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  • Perfection of Wisdom
  • Toh 3808

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འཕགས་པ་ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་འབུམ་པ་དང་། ཉི་ཁྲི་ལྔ་སྟོང་པ་དང་། ཁྲི་བརྒྱད་སྟོང་པའི་རྒྱ་ཆེར་བཤད་པ།

The Long Explanation of the Noble Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand, Twenty-Five Thousand, and Eighteen Thousand Lines
Explanation of the Intermediate Teaching

Ārya­śata­sāhasrikā­pañca­viṃśati­sāhasrikāṣṭā­daśa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā­bṛhaṭṭīkā
ᴀᴛᴛʀɪʙᴜᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ
Daṃṣṭrasena (Diṣṭasena) or Vasubandhu
’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa ’bum pa dang / nyi khri lnga stong pa dang / khri brgyad stong pa rgya cher bshad pa

Toh 3808

Degé Tengyur, vol. 93 (sher phyin, pha), folios 1.b–292.b

ᴀ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴛᴀʀʏ ᴏɴ
  • Toh 8
  • Toh 9
  • Toh 10
ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛɪʙᴇᴛᴀɴ ʙʏ
  • Surendrabodhi
  • Yeshé Dé

Imprint

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Translated by Gareth Sparham
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

First published 2022

Current version v 1.4.1 (2025)

Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.26.1

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co.

Table of Contents

ti. Title
im. Imprint
co. Contents
s. Summary
ac. Acknowledgements
+ 2 sections- 2 sections
· The Translator’s Acknowledgments
· Acknowledgement of Sponsorhip
i. Introduction
+ 3 sections- 3 sections
· The Work, its Tibetan Translation, and its Titles and Monikers
· The Work and its Original Author
· Structure of Bṭ3
+ 3 sections- 3 sections
· Introduction
· Explanation of the Doctrine
+ 3 sections- 3 sections
· Brief teaching
· Intermediate teaching
· Detailed teaching
· Summary of the Chapters of Bṭ3
+ 7 sections- 7 sections
· I. Introduction
+ 3 sections- 3 sections
· I.1 Introduction common to all sūtras
· I.2 Introduction unique to the Perfection of Wisdom
· I.3 Presentation of the single vehicle system
· II. Summary of Contents
· III. Explanation of the Brief Teaching
· IV. Explanation of the Intermediate Teaching
+ 2 sections- 2 sections
· IV.1 Brief teaching
· IV.2 Detailed teaching
· V. Explanation of the Detailed Teaching
+ 2 sections- 2 sections
· V.1 Part One
· V.2 Part Two
· VI. Explanation of the Maitreya Chapter
· Using This Commentary with the Long Sūtras
tr. The Translation
+ 7 sections- 7 sections
1. Introduction
+ 3 sections- 3 sections
· Introduction common to all sūtras
· Introduction unique to the Perfection of Wisdom
+ 5 sections- 5 sections
· First, radiating light from the major and minor parts of the body
· Second, radiating light from the pores of the body
· Third, radiating natural light
· Fourth, radiating light from the tongue
· Helping the world of inhabitant beings
· Presentation of the single vehicle system
2. Summary of Contents
3. Explanation of the Brief Teaching
4. Explanation of the Intermediate Teaching
+ 2 sections- 2 sections
· Brief teaching
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Practice of the perfections
· Practice of the dharmas on the side of awakening
· Practice without harming that brings beings to maturity
· Practice that brings the buddhadharmas to maturity
· Detailed Teaching
+ 8 sections- 8 sections
· Why bodhisattvas endeavor
+ 3 sections- 3 sections
· They want to make themselves familiar with the three vehicles
· They want the greatnesses of bodhisattvas
· They want the greatnesses of buddhas
· How bodhisattvas endeavor
· The defining marks of those who endeavor
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· The intrinsic nature of each‍—of form and so on, separately‍—that cannot be apprehended
· The intrinsic nature of them as a collection that cannot be apprehended
· Their defining marks that cannot be apprehended
· The totality of dharmas that cannot be apprehended
· Those who endeavor
· Instructions for the endeavor
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Instructions for making an effort by using names and conventional terms conventionally
· Instructions for making an effort without apprehending beings
· Instructions for making an effort by not apprehending words for things
· Instructions for making an effort when all dharmas cannot be apprehended
· Benefits of the endeavor
· Subdivisions of the endeavor
+ 6 sections- 6 sections
· Practice free from the two extremes
· Practice that does not stand
· Practice that does not fully grasp
+ 3 sections- 3 sections
· Not Fully Grasping Dharmas
· Not Fully Grasping Causal Signs
· Not Fully Grasping Understanding
· Practice that has made a full investigation
· Practice of method
· Practice for quickly fully awakening
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Training in the meditative stabilization spheres
· Training in not apprehending all dharmas
· Training in the illusion-like
· Training in skillful means
· Specific instruction for coming to an authoritative conclusion about this exposition
+ 2 sections- 2 sections
· Part One: The twenty-eight [or twenty-nine] questions
+ 13 sections- 13 sections
· 1a. What is the meaning of the word bodhisattva?
· 1b. What is the meaning of the term great being?
+ 3 sections- 3 sections
· The Lord’s intention
· Śāriputra’s intention
· Subhūti’s intention
· 1c. How are they armed with great armor?
+ 1 section- 1 section
· Pūrṇa’s intention
· 2. How have they set out in the Great Vehicle?
· 3. How do they stand in the Great Vehicle?
· 6. How is it a great vehicle?
+ 19 sections- 19 sections
· 2. Great Vehicle of all the emptinesses
· 3. Great Vehicle of all the meditative stabilizations
· 4. Great Vehicle of the applications of mindfulness
· 5. Great Vehicle of the right abandonments
· 6. Great Vehicle of the legs of miraculous power
· 7. Great Vehicle of the faculties
· 8. Great Vehicle of the powers
· 9. Great Vehicle of the limbs of awakening
· 10. Great Vehicle of the path
· 11. Great Vehicle of the liberations
· 12. Great Vehicle of the knowledges
· 13. Great Vehicle of the three faculties
· 14. Great Vehicle of the three meditative stabilizations
· 15–16. Great Vehicle of the mindfulnesses and the five absorptions
· 17. Great Vehicle of the ten powers
+ 8 sections- 8 sections
· First power
· Second power
· Third power
· Fourth power
· Fifth power
· Sixth power
· Seventh power
· Eighth to tenth powers
· 18. Great Vehicle of the four fearlessnesses
· 19. Great Vehicle of the four detailed and thorough knowledges
· 20. Great Vehicle of the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha
· 21. Great Vehicle of the dhāraṇī gateways
· 7. How have they come to set out in the Great Vehicle?
· 8. From where will the Great Vehicle go forth?
· 9. Where will that Great Vehicle stand?
· 10. Who will go forth in this vehicle?
· 11. It surpasses the world with its gods, humans, and asuras and goes forth. Is that why it is called a great vehicle?
· 12. That vehicle is equal to space
· The remaining sixteen questions
· Part Two
+ 2 sections- 2 sections
· The results of paying attention to the nonconceptual
· The questions and responses of the two elders
5. Explanation of the Detailed Teaching
+ 2 sections- 2 sections
· Part One
+ 7 sections- 7 sections
· Explanation of Chapters 22 and 23
+ 5 sections- 5 sections
· What is the bodhisattva great beings’ perfection of wisdom?
· How should bodhisattva great beings stand in the perfection of wisdom?
· How should bodhisattva great beings train in the perfection of wisdom?
· The sustaining power of the tathāgata
· The perfection of wisdom is great, immeasurable, infinite, and limitless
· Explanation of Chapters 24 to 33
+ 3 sections- 3 sections
· Beneficial qualities
· Merits
· Rejoicing and dedication
· Explanation of Chapters 34 to 36
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Wheel of the Dharma and the perfection of wisdom
· Not bound and not freed
· Purity
· Attachment and nonattachment
· Explanation of Chapters 37 and 38
+ 2 sections- 2 sections
· Benefits of purity
· Glosses
· Explanation of Chapters 39 to 42
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Absence of a practice and signs of completion
· Last of the five hundreds
· Explanation of the work of Māra
· Revealing this world
· Explanation of Chapters 43 to 45
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Marks
· Appreciation and gratitude
· How those new to the bodhisattva vehicle train
· Nine qualities of the doers of the difficult
· Explanation of Chapters 46 to 50
+ 6 sections- 6 sections
· Cultivation and disintegration
· Suchness and its indivisibility
· Shaking of the universe
· Synonyms of suchness
· Is it hard or not hard to become awakened?
· Signs of bodhisattvas irreversible from progress toward awakening
· Part Two
+ 6 sections- 6 sections
· Subhūti’s Two Hundred and Seventy-Seven Questions
· Explanation of Chapters 51 to 55
+ 5 sections- 5 sections
· The deep places
· Which moment of thought causes awakening?
· Karma in a dream and the waking state
· Fully mastering emptiness
· Questions 18 to 27
· Explanation of Chapters 56 to 63
+ 5 sections- 5 sections
· No duality and no nonduality
· Cyclic existence and nirvāṇa
· Standing in the knowledge of all aspects
· The three knowledges
· The meaning of pāramitā
· Explanation of Chapters 64 to 72
· Explanation of Chapter 73
+ 1 section- 1 section
· Major marks and minor signs of a buddha
· Explanation of Chapters 74 to 82
+ 1 section- 1 section
· Emptiness of a basic nature
6. Explanation of the Maitreya Chapter: Chapter 83
c. Colophon
ap. Outline
ab. Abbreviations
n. Notes
b. Bibliography
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Primary Sources‍—Tibetan
· Primary Sources‍—Sanskrit
· Secondary References
+ 1 section- 1 section
· Sūtras
+ 1 section- 1 section
· Indic Commentaries
+ 1 section- 1 section
· Indigenous Tibetan Works
· Secondary Literature
g. Glossary

s.

Summary

s.­1

The Long Explanation of the Noble Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand, Twenty-Five Thousand, and Eighteen Thousand Lines is a detailed explanation of the Long Perfection of Wisdom sūtras, presenting a structural framework for them that is relatively easy to understand in comparison to most other commentaries based on Maitreya-Asaṅga’s Ornament for the Clear Realizations. After a detailed, word-by-word explanation of the introductory chapter common to all three sūtras, it explains the structure they also all share in terms of the three approaches or “gateways”‍—brief, intermediate, and detailed‍—ending with an explanation of the passage known as the “Maitreya chapter” found only in the Eighteen Thousand Line and Twenty-Five Thousand Line sūtras. It goes by many different titles, and its authorship has never been conclusively determined, some Tibetans believing it to be by Vasubandhu, and others that it is by Daṃṣṭrāsena.


ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

This commentary was translated by Gareth Sparham under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

The Translator’s Acknowledgments

ac.­2

I thank the late Gene Smith, who initially encouraged me to undertake this work, and I thank all of those at 84000‍—Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, the sponsors, and the scholars, translators, editors, and technicians‍—and all the other indispensable people whose work has made this translation possible.

I thank all the faculty and graduate students in the Group in Buddhist Studies at Berkeley, and Jan Nattier, whose seminars on the Perfection of Wisdom were particularly helpful. At an early stage, Paul Harrison and Ulrich Pagel arranged for me to see a copy of an unpublished Sanskrit manuscript of a sūtra cited in Bṭ3. I thank them for that assistance.

I also take this opportunity to thank the abbot of Drepung Gomang monastery, Losang Gyaltsen, and the retired director of the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Kalsang Damdul, for listening to some of my questions and giving learned and insightful responses.

Finally, I acknowledge the kindness of my mother, Ann Sparham, who recently passed away in her one hundredth year, and my wife Janet Seding.

Acknowledgement of Sponsorhip

ac.­3

We gratefully acknowledge the generous sponsorship of Kelvin Lee, Doris Lim, Chang Chen Hsien, Lim Cheng Cheng, Ng Ah Chon and family, Lee Hoi Lang and family, the late Lee Tiang Chuan, and the late Chang Koo Cheng. Their support has helped make the work on this translation possible.


i.

Introduction

i.­1

The Long Explanation of the Noble Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand, Twenty-Five Thousand, and Eighteen Thousand Lines (hereafter Bṭ3) is a line-by-line explanation of the three Long Perfection of Wisdom sūtras, presenting a structural framework common to all three sūtras that is easy for readers unfamiliar with the Perfection of Wisdom to understand. It should not be confused with the commentary with which it is often associated, The Long Commentary on the One Hundred Thousand (hereafter Bṭ1), which has the same generic name Bṛhaṭṭīkā, the same opening verse of homage, and many similar passages. The two works are grouped together in the Degé Tengyur and are described in Tsultrim Rinchen’s Karchak (dkar chag) of the Degé Tengyur as together constituting the third of the four great “pathbreaker” traditions of interpreting the Perfection of Wisdom, which is characterized by the “three approaches and eleven formulations” (sgo gsum rnam grangs bcu gcig).1

The Work, its Tibetan Translation, and its Titles and Monikers

The Work and its Original Author

Structure of Bṭ329

Introduction

Explanation of the Doctrine

Brief teaching

Intermediate teaching

Detailed teaching

Summary of the Chapters of Bṭ3

I. Introduction

I.1 Introduction common to all sūtras

I.2 Introduction unique to the Perfection of Wisdom

I.3 Presentation of the single vehicle system

II. Summary of Contents

III. Explanation of the Brief Teaching

IV. Explanation of the Intermediate Teaching

IV.1 Brief teaching

IV.2 Detailed teaching

V. Explanation of the Detailed Teaching

V.1 Part One

V.2 Part Two

VI. Explanation of the Maitreya Chapter

Using This Commentary with the Long Sūtras


Text Body

The Translation
The Long Explanation of the Noble Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand, Twenty-Five Thousand, and Eighteen Thousand Lines

1.

Introduction

[F.1.b] [B1]39


1.­1

We prostrate to Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta.

Introduction common to all sūtras

1.­2
Having reverently bowed to the Mother of Victors,
The foremost perfection in the form of wisdom,
I want to make a Path where the Thorns Have Been Trodden Down
Because the tradition of the gurus has been of benefit to me.40
1.­3

Thus did I hear P18k P25k

and so on. Because he has been charged with protecting the form body and the true collection of teachings,41 the great noble bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi, asked in the assembly, says to noble Maitreya that this is the explanation of the perfection of wisdom that he has heard, with “Thus did I hear.”

Introduction unique to the Perfection of Wisdom

First, radiating light from the major and minor parts of the body

Second, radiating light from the pores of the body

Third, radiating natural light

Fourth, radiating light from the tongue

Helping the world of inhabitant beings

Presentation of the single vehicle system


2.

Summary of Contents

2.­1

“Here, Śāriputra, bodhisattva great beings who want to fully awaken to all dharmas in all forms should make an effort at the perfection of wisdom.” P18k P25k

2.­2

In regard to this explanation of the perfection of wisdom, the Lord presents an exegesis by means of three gateways and eleven rounds of teaching. Taking three types of trainees as the point of departure‍—those who understand the perfection of wisdom by means of a brief indication, those who understand when there is an elaboration, and those who need to be led‍—it explains by means of


3.

Explanation of the Brief Teaching

3.­1

Now I shall teach the meaning of the words in the brief statement. There, in, “Here, Śāriputra, bodhisattva great beings who want to fully awaken to all dharmas in all forms should make an effort at the perfection of wisdom,”

“Śāriputra [Son of Śāradvatī]” P18k P25k

is called by the name of the elder’s mother.

3.­2

“Here” P18k

should be construed as “in this” Great Vehicle discourse, or “in this” perfection of wisdom discourse, that is, put it together as: The bodhisattva great beings stand in this Great Vehicle, or in this perfection of wisdom.


4.

Explanation of the Intermediate Teaching

Brief teaching

4.­1

Then the elder Śāriputra, for the sake of those who understand when there is an elaboration, starts the intermediate teaching with this question:

“How then, Lord, should bodhisattva great beings who want to fully awaken to all dharmas in all forms make an effort at the perfection of wisdom?” P18k P25k P100k

4.­2

This is a fourfold question about the Dharma: What are “bodhisattva great beings”? What is “want to fully awaken to all dharmas in all forms”? What is “should make an effort at”? And what is “the perfection of wisdom”? Again, there will be an explanation of the four below in their appropriate context.

4.­3

Venerable Śāriputra having thus inquired, the Lord, P18k P25k P100k

in his explanation, then gives a twofold exposition, brief and detailed. From,

4.­4

“Śāriputra, here bodhisattva great beings, having stood in the perfection of wisdom by way of not taking their stand on it,” [F.42.b] P18k P25k P100k

up to

“should cultivate… great love, great compassion, great joy, and great equanimity,” P18k P25k P100k

brings together all dharmas and teaches by way of a brief exposition. Then, starting from just those dharmas, it gives a detailed exposition.

4.­5

“Śāriputra, here bodhisattva great beings, having stood in the perfection of wisdom by way of not taking their stand on it,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, teaches four practices, which is to say, the four practices taught by this:

“should… make an effort at the perfection of wisdom.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­6

They are

the practice of the nonconceptual perfections;

practice in harmony with the dharmas on the side of awakening without the secondary afflictions;

practice without harming that brings beings to maturity; and

practice without stains that brings the buddhadharmas to maturity.

4.­7

Among these, the practice of the perfections is accomplished with skillful means; the practice of the dharmas on the side of awakening is accomplished through knowledge of mastery; the practice of bringing beings to maturity is accomplished through compassion; and the practice of fully developing the buddhadharmas is accomplished with wisdom.

4.­8

There, “having stood in the perfection of wisdom by way of not taking their stand on it” and so on teaches the practice of the perfections. From,

“Śāriputra, bodhisattva great beings, having stood in the perfection of wisdom, should perfect the four applications of mindfulness,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, up until

“they should perfect259… the wishlessness meditative stabilization,” P18k P25k P100k

teaches the practice of the dharmas on the side of awakening that is the absence of afflictions. From

4.­9

“the four concentrations” P18k P25k P100k

up until

“the nine abodes of beings” P18k P25k P100k

teaches the practice without harming that brings beings to maturity. From

4.­10

“they should perfect… the ten tathāgata [F.43.a] powers,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, up until

“great equanimity” P25k P100k

teaches the practice without stains that brings the buddhadharmas to maturity.

Practice of the perfections

4.­11

There,

“having stood in the perfection of wisdom by way of not taking their stand on it,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, teaches the practice of the perfections. It teaches the practice of the perfections in three parts: standing, achieving, and the purity of the three spheres, just like “the stand” that has to be taken, “the achieving” that has to be done, and “the state of mind” one has to be in that is taught in the Triśatikā.260

4.­12

When bodhisattvas have given up wanting a special result other than that; when, through the force of compassion, they intend to establish benefit and happiness for all beings; and when, through the force of wisdom, they stand nowhere at all in the three realms or in any dharma, bodhisattvas have “stood in the perfection of wisdom.” Hence it says bodhisattvas have “stood in the perfection of wisdom by way of not taking their stand on it.” It means “with the correct method of not taking a stand anywhere.”261 This intends that just not taking a stand anywhere is standing in the perfection of wisdom. Here it has taught that the “perfection of wisdom” is also the knowledge of all aspects, or nonconceptual wisdom, or the Great Vehicle.

4.­13

The practice through the force of habit in harmony with the path to awakening is the achieving.262 Therefore it says a bodhisattva

“should complete the perfection of giving.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­14

Ultimately, when dharmas have been sought, they are the purity of the three spheres; therefore, it says

“by way of not giving up anything, because a gift, a giver, and a recipient are not apprehended.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­15

When bodhisattvas moved by compassion [F.43.b] give to all beings everything they want, it is simply called giving, but it is not the perfection of giving. When after giving, or after the giving of a gift, having made an investigation with the four ways of investigating and having comprehended properly with the four comprehensions263 they cause it to be cleansed with wisdom,264 at that time it has been well cleansed and it gets the name perfection. Bodhisattvas first do everything out of compassion and later clean it with wisdom, hence they practice with compassion and purify with wisdom‍—they purify intention with compassion and purify the endeavor with wisdom; they stand in the conventional and achieve with compassion, and endeavor, standing in the ultimate, with wisdom. With compassion all things are done for the sake of beings, so they are counted in the merit collection; with wisdom they are done for the sake of awakening, so they are counted in the wisdom collection. Therefore it says that bodhisattvas

“should complete the perfection of giving by way of not giving up anything.” P18k P25k P100k

In this regard, taking as the point of departure the fact that bodhisattvas standing on the first level realize suchness, ultimately abiding in suchness is by a direct vision when an investigation has been carried out, not otherwise.

4.­16

Furthermore, no one can give or receive that suchness when a gift is given, so ultimately there is no “giving away” at all. Whatever food, drink, bedding, and so on are given away, they stand as falsely imagined dharmas, so, like a dream and like an illusion they do not exist. Hence this state, which is ultimately separated from the defining mark of giving, is called the “way of not giving up anything.” [F.44.a]

4.­17

In this “way of not giving up anything” these three “are not apprehended”: the thing as “a gift,” I as a “giver,” and the one taking as a “recipient.” They are without the intrinsic nature of something that could be apprehended. The “because”265 is because the perfection of giving should be completed based on that, having taken that as its point of departure.

4.­18

First, through the force of compassion they remain in the conventional mode by means of an ordinary course of practice and engage in giving. Then they remain in the ultimate mode governed by wisdom. When by means of an extraordinary course of practice all that has been investigated with wisdom cannot be apprehended, at that time the perfection of giving is named completed. Therefore, because they have not forsaken the two‍—first, the beings (sattva) who are the objective support of the production of the thought, and then awakening (bodhi)‍—they are endowed with all that the name bodhisattva signifies.

4.­19

In that case, since when a gift, a giver, and a recipient are not apprehended it totally precludes giving, how can this not be a contradiction?

It is because of the force of the perfection of skillful means. The perfection of skillful means is both compassion that grasps the conventional and wisdom that grasps the ultimate. They are companions that achieve and operate simultaneously, like the movement on dry land and movement in water engaged in by an amphibian. They totally preclude each other as different things it does but do not preclude each other as aspects of what it does. This teaches that up until awakening the practice achieving all the merit accumulations and wisdom accumulations is the “supreme benefit of awakening and beings.” These two will be explained again just as they are in the appropriate contexts.


4.­20

“Should complete the perfection of morality because no downfall is incurred and no compounded downfall is incurred”‍— P18k P25k P100k

when bodhisattva householders [F.44.b] take up and follow the training to do with the bodhisattva code of conduct, and those gone forth to homelessness take up and follow the trainings to do with both codes of conduct, they incur no downfall. Even if they do incur a downfall, they do not compound it by letting time pass; they very quickly reveal it. Hence it says, “no downfall is incurred and no compounded downfall is incurred.” “Having stood in the perfection of wisdom” comes right after this as well so it should be understood that on account of not apprehending the three conceptualizations‍—“I am moral,” “this is morality,” “this is immorality”‍—it is the purity of the three spheres. Thus, below it will say,266

“They do not falsely project ‘I am moral, this is morality, this is immorality.’ ” P18k P25k


4.­21

“Because there is no disturbance”‍— P18k P25k P100k

this teaches the nature of the perfection of patience. Furthermore, governed by compassion they are not disturbed by beings, and governed by wisdom they realize there is no self in the volitional factors. Here also the purity of the three spheres on account of not apprehending patience, an object of patience, or malice will be explained again in the appropriate contexts.


4.­22

“Because there is no relaxing of physical or mental effort”267‍— P18k P25k P100k

this teaches engagement in the perfection of perseverance. It means bodhisattvas

“should complete… the perfection of perseverance” P18k P25k P100k

with the perseverance that causes them not to relax from any physical or mental effort at persisting, respecting, and trying hard. Not giving up, furthermore, is from wisdom and compassion. Here also the state of perfection is accomplished on account of not apprehending someone who has perseverence, perseverance, or laziness.


4.­23

“Because there is no experience”‍— P18k P25k P100k

if they enter into a concentration for their own sake [F.45.a] it becomes the “experience” of a concentration. So, given that bodhisattvas spurn all practice done only for their own sake as a sin, how could they ever pay attention to the experience of a concentration? What it means to say is that of the three concentrations‍—defiled, purified, and without outflows‍—they become absorbed in purified concentrations and concentrations without outflows, not in defiled ones. Here also, on account of not apprehending someone in the concentration, the concentration, or distraction, the perfection becomes complete.


4.­24

“Because all phenomena are not apprehended”‍— P18k P25k P100k

when they see just reality, they do not apprehend any ordinary, falsely imagined phenomena, and they do not even conceive of the extraordinary ones either, whereby they

“should complete the perfection of wisdom.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­25

How, standing in the perfection of wisdom, can they complete the perfection of wisdom?

When “the perfection of wisdom” is work at the knowledge of all aspects and the Great Vehicle there is no fault. Still, when bodhisattvas are working on the perfection of nonconceptual wisdom, thinking “ultimately there is no perfection of wisdom dharma whatsoever,” they stand in the perfection of nonconceptual wisdom, the nature of which is the absence of the conceptualization of the perfection of wisdom. At that point, the wisdom produced in a conventional form, which thinks “the three realms and so on are simply just suchness,” is conceptual in nature, but as the path of preparation realization, since it is informed by the nonconceptual perfection of wisdom, it is called the perfection of wisdom. Therefore there is no fault, because the intention is that bodhisattvas, standing in the perfection of wisdom, cultivate the perfection of wisdom. Here [F.45.b] too it should be understood that on account of not apprehending someone who has wisdom, wisdom, or intellectual confusion, it is the purity of the three spheres.

Practice of the dharmas on the side of awakening

4.­26

Then,

“Śāriputra, bodhisattva great beings, having stood in the perfection of wisdom, should perfect the four applications of mindfulness,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, teaches the practice of the dharmas on the side of awakening.


4.­27

Qualm: The cultivation of the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening is appropriate for those in the Śrāvaka and Pratyekabuddha Vehicles who strive for nirvāṇa but is not appropriate for bodhisattvas.

4.­28

Response: There is no fault here. Bodhisattvas want to realize all dharmas in all forms and are intent on not apprehending all dharmas, so, because they investigate whether the awakening dharmas do or do not exist ultimately, it is appropriate.


4.­29

Qualm: Nevertheless, in that case, having cultivated the dharmas on the side of awakening they become a cause for their actualizing nirvāṇa. Bodhisattvas therefore will become stream enterers, up to worthy ones.

4.­30

Response: They are accomplished because of the power of the force of an earlier endeavor,268 so there is no fault in it.

4.­31

Still, those who see faults in saṃsāra and feel repulsion, and strive for and accomplish nirvāṇa having seen its good qualities, effortlessly actualize nirvāṇa because of the force of an earlier endeavor, on account of the cause‍—their meditation on the applications of mindfulness. Bodhisattvas, however, regard saṃsāra and nirvāṇa equally. They are intent on producing benefit and happiness for all beings, so they see good qualities in saṃsāra because it is the cause for the benefit of beings, like nirvāṇa; and they see nirvāṇa as disagreeable, like saṃsāra, because it is not a place to stand to be of benefit to beings. They see them as equal [F.46.a] because they are both merely the true nature of dharmas. So they have meditated on the dharmas on the side of awakening in order to understand analytically that they cannot be apprehended. They do it simply to actualize the dharmas on the side of awakening. They do not work on them in order to realize the result of stream enterer and so on, or nirvāṇa. Just that is “knowledge of mastery.” It will also be explained like this in the teaching on the knowledge of mastery where it will say that269

“they remain with the dharmas on the side of awakening, understanding that it is thus the time for mastery, and it is not the time for actualization.” P18k

4.­32

There are four objects to which mindfulness is applied: body, feelings, mind, and dharmas. The four observations of those four are “the four applications of mindfulness.” Having come to know them previously, when bodhisattvas then search for them as they really are, they comprehend that body, feelings, mind, and dharmas, the mindfulness and wisdom focused on them, as well as the mental factor dharmas associated with them, are marked as falsely imagined, and they understand that they are not in fact real. Since the inexpressible ultimate is not within the range of either mindfulness or wisdom, the bodhisattvas realize that ultimately there are no defining marks of the applications of mindfulness, and thus stand in the perfection of wisdom and

“perfect the four applications of mindfulness.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­33

Therefore the One Hundred Thousand also says270

“because the applications of mindfulness cannot be apprehended.” P100k

4.­34

I will give a detailed explanation of meditation on the dharmas on the side of awakening later as part of the exposition of the Great Vehicle.271

4.­35

Construe the right efforts like this as well. It is saying that the defining marks [F.46.b] of the right efforts and so on are simply mere conventions, but ultimately the defining marks of the right efforts and so on have nonexistence for their intrinsic nature. Hence, understanding that the right efforts and so on have an intrinsic nature that cannot be apprehended, they, “having stood in the perfection of wisdom, … perfect” the dharmas on the side of awakening.

4.­36

“They should cultivate the emptiness meditative stabilization.” P18k P25k P100k

The three doors to liberation cause the attainment of nirvāṇa272 so they are in harmony with the cultivation of the dharmas on the side of awakening and are counted among the dharmas on the side of awakening. These are included in the bodhisattva stage so they are called “the three meditative stabilizations.”273

4.­37

Among them, in regard to “the emptiness meditative stabilization,” that which is marked as the thoroughly established is empty of that which is marked as the falsely imagined. When it is cultivated as the empty aspect, “it is empty of those falsely imagined aspects,” and the mind has become single-pointed; this is “the emptiness meditative stabilization.”

4.­38

Just that inexpressible ultimate, like space, separated from all the causal signs of form and so on, marked as the nonexistence of any aspect of a causal sign is the calming of all elaborations. When it is cultivated as the calm aspect, and the mind has become single-pointed, it is

“the signlessness meditative stabilization.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­39

Similarly, on account of seeing the three realms in their nonexistent intrinsic nature aspect, all dharmas come to be perceived as discordant. When the insight that they do not serve as a basis for anything to be wished for in the future has become a single-pointed mind, it is

“the wishlessness meditative stabilization.” P18k P25k P100k

Practice without harming that brings beings to maturity

4.­40

Then the practice that brings beings to maturity is taught with

“they should cultivate the four concentrations,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.274 Those beings who are to be brought to maturity, furthermore, are ordinary beings and extraordinary beings, and the maturing has to be done with the dharmas in the concentration and meditative stabilization class, the clairvoyance class, [F.47.a] and the knowledge class, so it includes all three classes. That is presented as the practice that brings being to maturity because bodhisattvas first conventionally take up all the concentration dharmas, and so on, to work for the benefit of beings, then afterward, having searched for the ultimate, without settling down on the intrinsic nature of the concentrations, and so on, again with both compassion and skillful means take the conventional as their objective support and work for the benefit of beings.

4.­41

There, in regard to the

“mindfulness of disgust,” P18k P25k P100k

having taken birth, decay, illness, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, depression, and grief; the impermanent, the empty, and the selfless and so on‍—the grounds for repulsion‍—as the objective support, seeing them as faults and paying attention to the feeling of disgust is “mindfulness of disgust.” As for a bodhisattva’s mindfulness of disgust, having seen that the foolish generate an awareness of all phenomena as having essences and engage with those even though they are selfless and are the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature, the attention preceded by the thought that they may quickly come to know that is “mindfulness of disgust.”

4.­42

“Mindfulness of death” P18k P25k P100k

is spoken of earlier governed by “mindfulness” as paying attention. Later, based on special insight, the vision of death in its true dharmic nature is said to be

“the perception of death.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­43

The pleasure of not trusting any ordinary knowledge or craftsmanship, or the sixty-four arts and so on, is

“the perception that there is no delight in the entire world.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­44

Not wanting anything in the three realms on account of not seeing any reason to be attached to them is

“the perception that there is nothing to trust in the entire world.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­45

“They should cultivate knowledge of suffering.”275 P18k P25k P100k

Having made known that all dharmas such as the aggregates and so on are, from a conventional perspective, just suffering, [F.47.b] then, even while knowing that they are ultimately utterly nonexistent things, in order to bring beings to maturity, knowing them conventionally in just the aspect of suffering and knowing how to make others understand them like that as well is the knowledge of suffering. Construe all the other noble truths similarly.

4.­46

The knowledge that just those aggregates, constituents, sense fields, and so on are products,276 the knowledge of how to make that understood, and the knowledge that all are in agreement277 is

“the knowledge of origination.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­47

The knowledge that all their own and others’ afflictions, secondary afflictions, suffering, and existence are extinguished, and the knowledge of what causes them to be completely extinguished, is the bodhisattvas’

“knowledge of extinction.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­48

“[The] knowledge of not arising”278 P18k P25k P100k

of bodhisattvas is the knowledge of all the arising in their own and others’ births in existence, and the knowledge of what causes them not to arise.

4.­49

“Knowledge of dharmas” P18k P25k P100k

is direct knowledge of all dharmas as conventions, and, governed by the ultimate, knowledge as suchness.

4.­50

“Subsequent realization knowledge” P18k P25k

is the inferential knowledge of all dharmas as conventions, the knowledge that even though they were not directly perceptible as impermanent, and so on, they are so, and the subsequent knowledge bodhisattvas have that all dharmas are in accord with emptiness.

4.­51

All the nobles’ knowledge of beings and pots and so on, and the bodhisattvas’ knowledge that observes all falsely imagined dharmas such as form and so on, is

“conventional knowledge.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­52

“Knowledge of mastery”‍— P18k P25k P100k

the knowledge with which bodhisattvas cultivate the three gateways to liberation‍—emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness,‍—and the dharmas on the side of awakening, without actualizing nirvāṇa, [F.48.a] the knowledge that causes only the habituation to and purification of them, is “knowledge of mastery.” Were they to actualize nirvāṇa they would become stream enterers and so on, but because they fear that, they do not touch the very limit of reality. With that knowledge they cultivate them as mere dharmas.279


4.­53

Qualm: But how could they have cultivated dharmas that cause them to reach nirvāṇa and yet still not have actualized the very limit of reality?

As explained earlier,280 it is because they do not “pay attention to the feeling of disgust.” Furthermore, the precursor to the actualization of the very limit of reality is the cultivation of calm abiding and special insight. Bodhisattvas, however, do not practice a cultivation of such calm abiding and special insight that would cause them to reach the very limit of reality. Since theirs is only the vast cultivation of all dharmas without apprehending them, when they observe the dharmas on the side of awakening they understand them, unabsorbed, with an ordinary knowledge. Therefore, since they do not have the conditions281 for that calm abiding and special insight, they do not actualize the very limit of reality. Thus, later the Lord will again say,282

4.­54

“Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings contemplate emptiness furnished with the best of all aspects, they do not contemplate that they should actualize it; rather, they contemplate that they should master it. They contemplate that it is not the time it should be actualized, but rather it is the time it should be mastered. When not in actual283 meditative equipoise, bodhisattva great beings attach their minds to an objective support and without letting the dharmas on the side of awakening lessen, in the meantime do not actualize the extinction of outflows,” P18k

and so on.

4.­55

“Knowledge in accord with sound”284‍— P18k P25k P100k

any language whatsoever is “in accord with sound.” Knowledge of that is “knowledge in accord with sound.” So, knowledge in accord with sound is the knowledge [F.48.b] with which bodhisattvas have an understanding and knowledge of all the languages and speech of hell beings, animals, ghosts, gods, humans, and Brahmās.

4.­56

All of these are taken together with “having stood in the perfection of wisdom,” so understand that all are cultivated without taking any as a real basis. Therefore, the One Hundred Thousand and so on spell it out like that in every case.

4.­57

“The five undiminished clairvoyances”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because they are in possession of the five clairvoyances in all deaths and births in all forms of life, they have clairvoyances that do not decline, so they are “undiminished.”

4.­58

“The six perfections”‍— P18k P25k P100k

it is true that the six perfections have already been spoken about before, nevertheless here it speaks about them again in the context of bringing beings to maturity.

4.­59

“The six principles of being liked”‍— P18k P100k

these six principles are in the One Hundred Thousand.285 They are kindly physical action, kindly verbal action, kindly mental action, a balanced morality, a balanced view, and a balanced livelihood.

4.­60

“The seven riches” P18k P25k P100k

are faith, morality, learning, giving away, wisdom, a sense of shame, and a sense of compunction.

4.­61

“The eight ways great persons think”286‍— P18k P25k P100k

the ways śrāvakas think are as explained in the Subcommentary.287 As for the way bodhisattvas think, they think, “At some point may I be able to eliminate all the suffering of all beings”; they think, “At some point may I be able to establish in prosperity those who are suffering from poverty”; they think, “At some point may I be able to look after the needs of beings with the flesh and blood of my own body”; they think, “Even if I live long among the denizens of the hells may I at some point [F.49.a] only be of benefit to those beings”; they think, “With the ordinary and extraordinary endowments may I at some point come to see the hopes of the whole world fulfilled”; they think, “At some point, having become a buddha, may I deliver all beings from all the sufferings of saṃsāra”; they think, “In lifetime after lifetime may I never have a birth in which I am of no use to beings, a thought that is unconnected with the welfare of beings, a taste for the ultimate alone, meaningless words that do not satisfy all beings, a livelihood that does not benefit others, a body incapable of benefiting others, an awareness that does not illuminate what is of aid to others, wealth that is not used for the benefit of others, a position of importance in society that is not held for the sake of others, and a liking for causing harm to others”; and they think, “May all the results of evil deeds done by all other creatures come to fruition in me, and may all the results of my good conduct come to fruition in all beings.” These are “the eight ways great persons think.”

4.­62

When thinking in that way, they should meditate on

“the nine places beings live”288 P18k P25k P100k

so that those eight ways of thinking will bear fruit; so that, having viewed the world with compassion, they will bring about a benefit for others; so that, with wisdom, they will develop attention to not apprehending anything; and so that they will thoroughly understand the container world and its inhabitants.

4.­63

Some say,289 “the nine things that cause anguish to beings.” Bodhisattvas are totally without “the nine things that cause anguish,” so they become the opposite, the nine things that cause no anguish at all. [F.49.b] Construe them this way: They are not caused anguish by the thought, “That one hurt me.” They are not caused anguish by the thought, “That one is hurting me.” They are not caused anguish by the thought, “That one will hurt me,” and so on.

Practice that brings the buddhadharmas to maturity

4.­64

After that, with

“the ten tathāgata powers,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, it teaches the practice that brings the buddhadharmas to maturity.

4.­65

Since it has taught the four immeasurables before in the context of bringing beings to maturity, in the context of the practices that bring the buddhadharmas to maturity it teaches them with the different names‍—

“great compassion,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

Detailed Teaching

4.­66

Having thus brought together all the dharmas and taught them in a brief exposition, now they have to be explained in detail. Earlier, by speaking about what has to be known by those “who want to fully awaken to all dharmas in all forms,” it indicated the intention of bodhisattvas. Now, wanting to give a detailed teaching of the cause and result of that same intention, together with those who have the intention and so on, the Lord again, with those

“who want to fully awaken to the knowledge, furnished with the best of all aspects, of a knower of all aspects,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, gives a detailed teaching about the intention.

Why bodhisattvas endeavor

4.­67

Now the “why” taught previously, where it says in the exposition in eight parts “why bodhisattvas endeavor”‍—that “why” has to be explained.

4.­68

What stages does it have? The wanting of bodhisattvas refers to three things:

they want to make themselves familiar with the three vehicles,

they want the greatnesses of bodhisattvas, and

they want the greatnesses of buddhas.

4.­69

The five parts of the statement, from

“who want to fully awaken to the knowledge, furnished with the best of all aspects, of a knower of all,”290 P18k P25k P100k

up to291

“who want to perfect all-knowledge,” P18k P25k P100k

teach the three vehicles and the result. From [F.50.a]

4.­70

“who want to enter into the secure state of a bodhisattva,” P18k P25k P100k

up to292

“bodhisattva great beings who want to establish them in the result of stream enterer, the result of once-returner, the result of non-returner, the state of a worthy one, in a pratyekabuddha’s awakening, and in unsurpassed, perfect awakening should train in the perfection of wisdom,” P18k P25k P100k

teaches the greatnesses of bodhisattvas. Then, from

4.­71

“who want to train in the tathāgatas’ way of carrying themselves,” P18k P25k P100k

up to293

“make use of those five sorts of sense objects,” P18k P25k P100k

teaches the greatnesses of buddhas.

They want to make themselves familiar with the three vehicles

4.­72

In regard to those [five], the “three knowledges” are the knowledge of all aspects, the knowledge of path aspects, and all-knowledge.

4.­73

Among them, the extraordinary, nonconceptual knowledge included in the vajra-like meditative stabilization when there is a lord buddha’s transformation of the basis is called

“the knowledge of all aspects.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­74

Knowledge in the form of the bodhisattva’s path‍—the practice of the perfections and so on‍—that emerges in a series of ten levels, bringing the bodhisattvas to accomplishment, is called

“the knowledge of path aspects.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­75

The extraordinary path knowledge of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas that is caused by meditating on “everything compounded is impermanent,” “everything with outflows is suffering,” and “every dharma is selfless,” engaged with the aspects of impermanence and so on, is called

“all-knowledge.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­76

The statement “who want to fully awaken to the knowledge, furnished with the best of all aspects, of a knower of all” teaches that they want to fully awaken to the knowledge of all aspects;

“want to destroy all residual impressions, connections, [F.50.b] and afflictions” P18k P25k P100k

teaches its result.


4.­77

Qualm: But just that “want to fully awaken to all dharmas in all forms” has already taught the knowledge of all aspects, so why is it teaching it again?

There is no fault, because the earlier “want to fully awaken to all dharmas” was teaching all the dharmas that have to be realized, but here, with “want to fully awaken to the knowledge of a knower of all,” it is teaching the full awakening to just that knowledge of a knower of all.


4.­78

Qualm: What is its purpose in qualifying it with “furnished with the best of all aspects”?

There, the knowledge of a knower of all is threefold: the all-knowledge of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, and the all-knowing knowledge of buddhas with all dharmas as its objective support. The nonconceptual all-knowing knowledge of buddhas is also called “the knowledge of a knower of all.” Were it just to have said “wants to fully awaken to the knowledge of a knower of all,” there would have been uncertainty about which knowledge it is referring to. Hence, it qualifies it with “furnished with the best of all aspects.” With that it teaches the “knowledge of a knower of all aspects.”

4.­79

As for all the aspects, they are the nonarising unproduced aspect, the unceasing, the primordially calm, the naturally in nirvāṇa, the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature, emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, and so on. The best of all of those aspects, the principal one, is the emptiness aspect because it is the root of the other aspects. Therefore, it is taught that the entry into the sameness where the entities of apprehended and apprehender are the same, furnished with the best of all aspects and without conceptualization, [F.51.a] is the knowledge of a knower of all aspects.

4.­80

Alternatively, the knowledge of a knower of all itself is being taught. All the aspects are then those aspects included in the collection of the wholesome, unwholesome, and neutral, as well as those included in the collection of those destined for what is right, destined for error, and those of uncertain destiny.294 In this case, a buddha’s knowledge of a knower of all is furnished with all aspects because it comprehends what is included in the collections of the unwholesome and neutral, as well as those destined for error and those of uncertain destiny. It is said to be “furnished with the best of all aspects” because it comprehends what is included in the collections of the wholesome and those destined for what is right. Those who want such an awakening are said to “want to fully awaken to the knowledge, furnished with the best of all aspects, of a knower of all”;

“want to destroy all residual impressions, connections, and afflictions”295 P18k P25k P100k

teaches its result. Residual impressions of action, residual impressions of affliction, and residual impressions of birth are the three sorts of residual impressions; connections of action, connections of affliction, and connections of birth are the three sorts of connections, because the connections of dependent origination are three. The meaning is that they “want to destroy” all “residual impressions,” all “connections, and all “afflictions.”

4.­81

Then the two‍—

“want to perfect the knowledge of path aspects” P18k P25k P100k

and

“want to perfect the knowledge of the aspects of the thought activity of all beings”296‍— P18k P25k P100k

teach the knowledge of path aspects and its result, [F.51.b] because bodhisattvas perfect the knowledge of the aspects of the paths and realize the thought and activity of beings, whereby they accomplish the welfare of beings.

4.­82

Then, “[they] want to perfect all-knowledge” teaches the knowledge of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, because, even though bodhisattvas have not actualized all-knowledge, for the sake of beings they know the nature of all-knowledge and the causes for attaining all-knowledge, and they establish beings in their respective results of stream enterer and so on. With that, therefore, they will have perfected all-knowledge. The conditions that aid all-knowledge are not taught because bodhisattvas will know what they are from just this, so it is unnecessary.

[B5]

They want the greatnesses of bodhisattvas

4.­83

Then,

“want to enter into the secure state of a bodhisattva” P18k P25k P100k

and so on teaches the desire for the greatnesses of bodhisattvas. Furthermore, it teaches four qualities of bodhisattvas: qualities of the impure levels, qualities of the pure levels, qualities of the level of detailed and thorough knowledge, and qualities when standing on the final level.

4.­84

From the first to the seventh level are the impure levels because bodhisattvas make an active effort to pay attention there. There you should know their qualities are from “want to enter into the secure state of a bodhisattva” up to297

“want to thoroughly establish a buddha’s body.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­85

The qualities of the eighth level are from “want to thoroughly establish a buddha’s body” up to298

“comprehend the suchness of all dharmas.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­86

The qualities of the level of detailed and thorough knowledge, on the ninth level, are from

“tiny particles” P18k P100k

up to the perfecting of the six perfections,299 [F.52.a] and the qualities when standing on the final tenth level are from

4.­87

“want to acquire the buddha qualities of the past, future, and present lord buddhas” P18k P25k P100k

up to300 the establishing of beings in their respective results of stream enterer and so on.

4.­88

Among these is

“want to enter into the secure state of a bodhisattva”‍— P18k P25k P100k

turning away from the state of a śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha is called “the secure state of a bodhisattva.” Others say to take “flawlessness”301 as the tathāgata­garbha. In regard to that302 there are three periods: flawlessness that is the absence of defilement, the secure state of a bodhisattva, and the certification of dharmas. As for the tathāgata­garbha, there are also three periods for that tathatā (“suchness”): the impure period in ordinary foolish beings, the period on the pure and impure bodhisattva levels, and the pure period on the Tathāgata level. There, the impure suchness is called “a being” (sattva). It is also called “the fixed state of defilement.” In the pure and impure period it is called “awakening and being” (bodhisattva) because the awakening (bodhi) period is pure, and the being (sattva) period impure. Just that is called “the secure state of a bodhisattva.” In the pure period it is called the tathāgata because it said,303

“Tathāgata, Subhūti, is a word for perfect suchness.”

Just that is called “the certification of dharmas.”304

4.­89

The period when a bodhisattva has forsaken the impure, fixed state of defilement period (when the tathāgata­garbha is called “being”), and reached the pure and impure [F.52.b] “secure state of a bodhisattva” period (when it is called “awakening and being”), is “the secure state of a bodhisattva.” Hence it means they “want” to reach the period of “the secure state of” reality called bodhisattva (“awakening and being”).305

4.­90

“Who want to pass beyond the level of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas”‍— P18k P25k P100k

this is because the qualities are superior, because a bodhisattva who has set out for the knowledge on the bodhisattva levels passes beyond the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha levels on account of four qualities: special faculties, special accomplishment, special knowledge, and special result.

4.­91

There a śrāvaka has naturally dull faculties, a pratyekabuddha middling faculties, and a bodhisattva sharp faculties. Śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas naturally seek their own welfare, accomplish their own welfare, and complete benefits only for themselves. Bodhisattvas naturally seek their own and others’ welfare, accomplish their own and others’ welfare, and complete benefits for themselves and others. Śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas realize that dharmas are impermanent, suffering, empty, and selfless, while bodhisattvas who have set out to benefit themselves and others are skilled in all fields of knowledge, and, having established the many dispositions, aims, and mental states of beings, make them realize that all dharmas are characterized by being unfindable. Śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas gain the purification of afflicted obscurations and reach a nirvāṇa with no remaining aggregates, while bodhisattvas eliminate both afflicted obscurations and knowledge obscurations and establish themselves in a nonabiding nirvāṇa, looking after the welfare of beings until the end of saṃsāra. [F.53.a]

4.­92

“Who want to stand on the irreversible level”‍— P18k P25k P100k

there are four reasons why those who have produced the thought of awakening later turn back from the thought of awakening: because they are no longer in the lineage, or have gotten into the clutches of bad friends, or have weak compassion, or are scared of the extremely long and unbearable sufferings of saṃsāra. All four of those causes, furthermore, are absent from bodhisattvas who have entered onto the bodhisattva levels. Therefore, the levels of Pramuditā and so on are called the irreversible levels.

4.­93

“Who want to surpass gift-giving to all śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas by producing a single thought with associated rejoicing”‍— P18k P25k P100k

the thought of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas when engaged in charity is not pure because it has craving, has conceptualization, and results in existence or in functioning for one’s own welfare. The bodhisattvas’ rejoicing thought is without craving, without conceptualization, does not have causal signs within its range, and is of benefit to self and others, so it is superior because of those qualities and hence is surpassing.

4.­94

Construe

“the aggregate of morality” P18k P25k P100k

and so on in the same way as well.

4.­95

In

“for the sake of all beings… giving even a little gift,” P18k P25k P100k

“for the sake of all beings” says that it is for all beings; “a little gift” is because of not having many things. It becomes immeasurable and incalculable because of turning it over for the sake of all beings, because of turning it over to all-knowledge, and because of the purity of the three spheres.

4.­96

“Bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of giving should train in the perfection of wisdom”‍— P18k P25k P100k

giving and so on without having trained in the Great Vehicle achievement is not the ultimate perfection.

4.­97

“Who want to thoroughly establish a buddha’s body”‍— P18k P25k P100k

on the seventh level [F.53.b] they know the form of the body of a buddha but at that time cannot achieve it. Having understood the form of the body of a buddha on that level they generate the desire to achieve it. Thus, it is saying306 that they enter into the intrinsic nature dharma body of all the buddhas from the tenth level; they also achieve the fine ornaments (the major marks and minor signs adorning the form body); and they cause the admiration of the tathāgata who is separated from speech, sound, and language, inexpressible, and naturally calm. Hence it307 teaches the three bodies.

4.­98

“Who want to be born in the buddha’s lineage”‍— P18k P25k P100k

here, take the tathāgata’s lineage to be the thoroughly established suchness, because at the eighth level all conceptualization, all exertion, and all causal signs are cut off, and there has been the transformation into the nature of purified suchness. This is called being “born in the tathāgata’s lineage.”

4.­99

“The heir apparent’s level” P18k P25k P100k

is just that very eighth level. Thus it says,308 “because it is totally without basic immorality it is called the heir apparent’s level.”

4.­100

Take309

“a world as vast as the dharma-constituent” P18k P25k P100k

as the world in the sense of beings, because the world as beings is also without an end. It has the tathāgata­garbha as its terminus. The world that is

“as far-reaching as the space element” P18k P25k P100k

is the world as container.

4.­101

“Want to make a single wholesome thought of awakening inexhaustible”‍— P18k P25k P100k

it is inexhaustible just like a single drop of water poured into the ocean that does not run out because, dedicated to the knowledge of all aspects, it works for the welfare of beings until the end of saṃsāra. Also understand the inexhaustible as it is explained in The Teaching of Akṣayamati.310

4.­102

“Want to ensure the line of buddhas will be unbroken” P18k P25k P100k

means to ensure the progeny necessary to continue the unbroken line, so that the line of buddhas [F.54.a] will remain unbroken.

4.­103

“[They] want to stand in inner emptiness” P18k P25k P100k

and so on teaches the sixteen emptinesses. It is true that emptiness, as an entity, is simply one. Nevertheless, it is divided into many types because of the different minds and interests of bodhisattvas.

4.­104

Here, when bodhisattvas endeavor to pay attention to emptiness, they think, “If all dharmas are empty‍—that is, unreal‍—how does the ‘self’ in ‘Monks, I am my own master’;311 ‘The actions I did myself ripen in me’; ‘Stay by yourself in the form of an island’ and so on exist?” Having reflected on that, when they first take up in their mind these forms, feelings, and so on that are their own self’s inner dharmas and reflect on them, they perfectly review the fact that there is nothing that can be set forth as a “self” that ultimately exists. These are simply things set forth just conventionally; they are names plucked out of thin air. Hence, it says “inner emptiness.” This is teaching the aggregates as emptiness.

4.­105

Then the bodhisattvas reflect, “If there is no self, does anything else exist or not?” They do not see any other things that can be set forth as “something else,” but see them simply as mere sense fields. Hence, it says

“outer emptiness.” P18k P25k P100k

This teaches that the sense fields are emptiness.

4.­106

Then, again in order to determine just that meaning well, they take up in their mind the inner and outer dharmas as one and meditate on them, viewing them simply as just the eighteen constituents. Therefore, it says

“inner and outer emptiness,” P18k P25k P100k

which teaches that the constituents are emptiness.

4.­107

Alternatively, tīrthikas say, “The enjoyer is the soul,” so it is necessary to teach the absence of a self of persons. And still those who have set out in this Dharma say, “The enjoyer is the inner sense fields,” [F.54.b] so it is necessary to teach that the sense fields are not real things. Hence it makes a presentation of inner and outer emptiness for both of those.

4.­108

There it teaches inner emptiness based on the person not having a self, with “the eyes are empty of self and what belongs to self, and the ears… are empty of self and what belongs to self,” and so on;312 and it teaches inner emptiness based on the selflessness of dharmas with “the eyes are empty of eyes…, the ears are empty of ears,” and so on.313 Both explanations are given.

4.­109

In this regard, there are also four possibilities to do with the eye: “my eyes are me”; “I have eyes”; “I am where my eyes are”; “my eyes are where I am.” This is similar to considering, “form is me”; “I have form”; “I am where form is”; and “form is where I am.” Among these, “my eyes are me” is grasping at the eyes as the self. “I have eyes”; “I am where my eyes are”; and “my eyes are where I am” is grasping at the eyes as belonging to the self. There, the understanding in accord with the reality of the eyes in a form that cannot be apprehended eliminates those four ways of grasping and perfectly sees in accord with the reality that the eyes are empty of self and what belongs to self. Similarly, connect this with the ears and so on as well. This is instruction in emptiness based on the selflessness of persons.

4.­110

Based on the selflessness of dharmas, eyes have the three aspects of the falsely imagined eyes, the conceptualized eyes, and the true dharmic nature of the eyes.314 Among these, the falsely imagined eyes are the things taken to be the eyes that are in the form of expressed and expressor. The conceptualized eyes are the appearance of eyes in the specific form in which they exist as a subject and object entity. [F.55.a] The true dharmic nature of the eyes is the nature free from expressed and expressor, that is inexpressible, that is free from becoming something with an appearance, and is a thoroughly established private introspective knowledge.

4.­111

There, in “the eyes are empty of eyes,” “the eyes” are the true dharmic nature of the eyes; they are “empty,” separated from “eyes,” the falsely imagined and the conceptualized eyes.315 That is the meaning. Similarly, connect this with “the ears are empty of ears” and so on.


4.­112

Qualm: The inexpressible ultimate is not an intrinsic nature of the eyes. Were it an intrinsic nature of the eyes it would be expressible, so why is it called the “true dharmic nature of the eyes”?

That is true, but still, even though any compounded phenomena whatsoever‍—eyes and so on, a shape or a sound and so on‍—in the way they are when transformed, in their thoroughly established form, are not differentiated as separate and are in the same form, nevertheless, when you want to talk about them you have no choice except to make distinctions in order to give an explanation. They are merely indicated by specifically distinguishing them with words like “the shape’s suchness,” “the sound’s suchness,” “the smell’s suchness,” and so on. But that suchness is not in those forms and does not become expressible as them. Thus, all the true dharmic natures of the eyes and so on are devoid of intrinsic natures of the inner eye sense field and so on, and hence it says “inner emptiness.”

4.­113

Having thus stopped grasping at an inner entity as an enjoyer, to stop grasping at outer entities as the enjoyed there is a presentation of outer emptiness. Tīrthikas grasp shapes and so on as the enjoyed, viewing them as what belongs to self; followers of this Dharma grasp them conceptually as just objects. To stop the former of these it says316 “a form is empty of self and what belongs to self,” “a sound is empty of self and what belongs to self,” and so on. [F.55.b] To stop the other of the two it says317 “a form is empty of a form,” “a sound is empty of a sound,” and so on. Again, you should construe that as above. Similarly, about outer objects devoid of self and what belongs to self, devoid of those falsely imagined dharma aspects, it says “outer emptiness.”

4.­114

Having thus given an explanation of the conceptualizations of inner and outer enjoyer and enjoyed, now, to eliminate from the bodies of assembled inner and outer sense fields the view of “I” and “mine,” and the conceptualization of them as a body, it collects them both together and teaches

“inner and outer emptiness.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­115

In order to eliminate views, bodhisattvas correctly view those assemblages of inner and outer sense fields as empty of a real “I” and “mine.” The presentation of the elimination of the conceptualization, furthermore, is based on there being no collections of the assemblages, because, contingent one on the other, they are empty of functioning.318 This means that the eyes are empty of a shape, so ultimately they do not perform the action of seeing and so on, having connected with it. Similarly, a shape is empty of the eyes in the sense that it does not perform a function together with them. Similarly, the ears are empty of a sound, and a sound is empty of the ears. Therefore, because the collection does not function, the conceptualization of the assemblage as a body is eliminated.

4.­116

In the section explaining the emptinesses, therefore, the inner dharmas are empty of the outer dharmas, and the outer dharmas are empty of the inner dharmas.

4.­117

What does inner dharmas empty of outer dharmas mean? It means that the eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue, the body, and the thinking mind are empty of shapes, sounds, smells, tastes, feelings, and dharmas. Thus there is no “I” and “mine” in the assemblage of inner and outer dharmas. And the inner dharmas are devoid of the outer dharmas, [F.56.a] and the outer dharmas are devoid of the inner dharmas, so, because in the absence of an assemblage they are ultimately empty of functioning, it says “inner and outer emptiness.”

4.­118

After perfectly setting forth the three emptinesses, bodhisattvas reflect, “Does ‘emptiness’ exist as an aspect of a phenomenon or not? If an ‘emptiness’ exists then emptiness exists, and the state of not being empty will come to exist as well, because the existence of an antidote without the existence of its opposition is untenable. And if there is a nonempty state, then that will be the nonempty state that all dharmas are in.” Having reflected thus, bodhisattvas then decide, “There is no ‘emptiness’ at all. Were some other ‘empty’ dharma to exist, then a nonempty dharma would exist, so there is no other ‘empty’ dharma at all.”

4.­119

To illustrate, someone “sees” the city of the gandharvas and thinks they have seen it.319 Then, afterward, when they have really explored and looked for just that city and do not see it, they no longer think that they have seen it. But it is not suitable to say, when they see its emptiness, because they think it is empty that there is some other, different entity‍—the “emptiness” of the city they were thinking about. Similarly, taking a falsely imagined shape and so on as a real shape, they think they have seen a constituent element of reality. Then when they look into what it really is, because the knowledge of it as it really is does not see that constituent of reality when it is looked for, it is simply that the nonexistence of the intellectually active awareness of the constituent of reality and an intellectually active awareness of the empty is born. But it is not suitable to say that when they see it is empty that there is some other, different constituent of reality‍—“the empty”‍—there. Therefore, because emptiness does not exist, the nonempty state does not exist either; because the nonempty state does not exist, emptiness does not exist either. This is the correct explanation here.320 What you should not say is, “There is no emptiness,” [F.56.b] because all dharmas are empty. And you should not say, “Emptiness exists!” because when you investigate, there is no other dharma‍—“emptiness”‍—at all. So this is the

“emptiness of emptiness.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­120

Again, bodhisattvas think,321 “If all dharmas are empty, why are all these moving and unmoving states of existence called ‘dependent origination.’ If they do not exist, they cannot be a dependent origination. And if a dependently originated phenomenon does exist, in that case all the moving and unmoving states of existence exist.” Having thought that, they determine there are no “dependently originated phenomena” at all, but even though they are thus totally nonexistent, still, from a time without beginning, for as long as they are not perfectly seen and directly realized322 they remain as existent causes and effects in the form of action, affliction, and maturation. And yet those actions, afflictions and maturations are emptinesses in each and every way. Those empty phenomena that exist as emptinesses in the form of causes and effects are dependent originations.

4.­121

To illustrate, a certain magician, having deceived the eyes of beings with an abracadabra,323 conjures up the appearance of a real elephant, horse, chariot, small troop of soldiers, mountain, waterfall, ocean, and so on.

4.­122

That becomes the condition that produces in a being whose eyes have been deceived by the abracadabra a consciousness of an elephant and so on appearing as that object, and those with those consciousnesses see those magically produced elephants and so on. Such a cause-and-effect reality existing as the magically produced elephant and so on, along with the consciousness, [F.57.a] is the dependent origination. The dependent origination that is those magically produced elephants and so on, and those consciousnesses, cannot possibly exist ultimately.

4.­123

Similarly, all fools whose sight has been deceived by ignorance see karmically constructed, falsely imagined phenomena that are like the magically produced elephants and so on. Those falsely imagined phenomena become the condition that generates a consciousness that they are appearing as they are, and those with those consciousnesses see those phenomena. Those grasped-object phenomena and grasper-subject phenomena imagined like that, existing in the form of causes and effects, are dependent originations. Those grasped-grasper dependent originations cannot possibly exist ultimately, therefore

“all dharmas have no intrinsic nature.”324 P18k

4.­124

Were phenomena to have any unfabricated essential identity in the form of an intrinsic nature, they would not come forth, contingent on something else, in a form that arises under the power of causes and conditions. But phenomena do come forth as dependent phenomena, dependent on other conditions; they do not come forth through an intrinsic nature that is their own unfabricated being. Hence it should be known that they are not things with their own intrinsic nature. Because their own intrinsic nature is thus nonexistent, therefore they325 “lack an intrinsic nature.” Just because they lack an intrinsic nature, they are emptiness. Hence, “the meaning of no intrinsic nature is the meaning of dependent origination, and the meaning of emptiness is the meaning of dependent origination.”

4.­125

When the perfect sight of reality has been produced and has overcome the force of abracadabra-like ignorance, falsely imagined dharmas like the magically produced elephant and so on, and the consciousness-dharmas that grasp them [F.57.b] in the form of a dependent origination marked as a cause-and-effect reality, stop appearing and disappear. This is the

“great emptiness.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­126

Again, the bodhisattvas think, “If all dharmas are empty, the ultimate dharma is empty too. If it is empty, how326 is it ultimate? How does the vajropama meditative stabilization of the buddhas apprehend it? If that dharma does exist, then all dharmas will similarly exist as well.” They then determine as follows: No “ultimate” dharma exists at all. The tathāgata­garbha in its established state is not the nature of the dharmas, because you cannot say it “exists” or “does not exist.” You cannot say this thoroughly established state “exists” because it is presented as being characterized by the nonexistence of both the falsely imagined grasped-object and grasper-subject, and you cannot say of something characterized by nonexistence that it “exists.” You cannot say it is “nonexistent” either, because it exists as an intrinsic nature separated from duality. If you say that in such a form it “exists,” it comes to exist as a real thing and becomes the extreme of over-reification; and if you say it does not exist as a substantial reality, it becomes nonexistent like a rabbit’s horns and so on and becomes the extreme of over-negation. So, since it is inexpressible as either, it should not be conceived of like that.

4.­127

And the statement that the vajropama meditative stabilization apprehends it is an ill-considered statement, because the extraordinary nonconceptual knowledge of the buddhas does not apprehend anything. At that time it has no grasped-object and grasper-subject aspects, so there has been a transformation into an absolutely pure state and hence it does not apprehend anything. But still, because of the earlier [F.58.a] habituation to being a grasper-subject in a saṃsāra that has no beginning, even though at that time it is not in the nature of a consciousness and has no grasped-object of its own,327 still it is labeled as itself operating like a grasper-subject. It is said to be “equal” because it is equally an apprehended and apprehender entity. It is said to be “equal to the equal” because it is just that apprehended and apprehender as well. Ultimate reality in such a form, not existing in the form of some other phenomenon, is the

“emptiness of ultimate reality.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­128

Again, the bodhisattvas think, “If all phenomena are emptiness, compounded phenomena and uncompounded phenomena would not exist, but it is not right to say that they ‘do not exist’ because they are expressed as the compounded and uncompounded, and also from time to time in the scriptures they are impure appearance.” They then determine as follows: No transformed “compounded” phenomenon exists at all. Were it to exist, it would not be correct that it is in fact “compounded,” because the compounded is taken to be something made from a collection of causes and conditions that come together. If some compounded phenomenon were to exist ultimately, it would have been made by something else, and nothing can make an ultimate dharma. Since such a “compounded” phenomenon does not exist at all, it is fools using such names, because of a falsely imagined transformation. The arising, lasting, and perishing that are the characteristic marks of compounded things also have an imagined328 existence. Since the characteristic marks are said to have an imagined existence, the bearer of the marks definitely has to be taken as having an imagined existence as well. It is not right to characterize an ultimate dharma as imaginary. And even if a “compounded phenomenon” ultimately exists, it is not right for one phenomenon to have the three characteristic marks. Therefore [F.58.b] this is the

“emptiness of the compounded.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­129

Again, the bodhisattvas think, “Those uncompounded phenomena that are empty on account of the compounded being compounded are not compounded things. They are therefore the ultimate nature.” They then determine as follows: No transformed “uncompounded” phenomenon exists at all. The “uncompounded” is taken to be the nonexistence of something compounded. It does not ultimately exist. It is similar to space, which is taken to be marked by the nonexistence of anything compounded. It does not exist marked as a discrete entity absolutely other than that. An analytic cessation is also marked just by the nonexistence of any compounded phenomenon. Similarly, a nonanalytic cessation is also marked by the destruction of compounded phenomena. If even in the śrāvaka system they do not ultimately exist, it goes without saying that they do not do so in the emptiness system. This realization that they are emptiness is the

“emptiness of the uncompounded.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­130

Again, the bodhisattvas think, “If all dharmas are empty, is it right that we find in the scriptures statements that the lord buddhas are omniscient because they know those ‘past dharmas’ at the prior limit, ‘future dharmas’ at the later limit, and ‘present dharmas’ at the midpoint; that those lord buddhas’ knowledge of ‘the past free from unobstruction’ and so on is ‘a distinct attribute of a buddha’;329 and that the ‘divine eye’ and so on cover the three time periods?”330 They then determine as follows: It is not right that “prior limit, later limit, and the midpoint” dharmas exist at all, because [F.59.a] one single dharma cannot be said to be three, “future, present, and past.” If it is an ultimate dharma it is said to be just one. How could it be tenable that it is also at three times? The description of it in terms of three times is not right because then, whereas it is just one, at the later limit it would have to be the future, in between it would be the present, and at the prior limit it would be the past. So, since that is the case, it is just one.

4.­131

To illustrate, the first month Citrā, which has gone into a mansion and has emerged from a mansion, is still one.331 This happens without it changing.

4.­132

Furthermore, is this time contingently established or is it established in and of itself?

It is not right to say that it is established in and of itself, because it is feasible that things that stand still are established in and of themselves, but it is not feasible if they do not stand still. Time does not stand still. Its mode of operating is as something that is an instant, half a second, a second, a day and night, a fortnight, a month, the days in a month marking changes in constellation, a season, a yearly cycle, a time period, and so on. So time does not stand still even for an instant. It is labeled a half second when a bit of the past and a bit of the future are combined into one. Similarly, past and future combined together into one are labeled a day and a night. Therefore, a time “established in and of itself” does not exist in the past, the future, or the present, which are things that do not stand still.

4.­133

Even if you say that time is contingently established, and contingent on the past there is a future and present, and similarly, contingent on the present there are the other two times, and so on, if the two times‍—the present and the future‍—exist contingent on the past, then, when it is the past, the present and the future will be there as well. [F.59.b] If both the present and the future are not there in the past, they are not contingent on it. If both present and future are there in the past, since they are both there, they are both the past. Similarly, if the two‍—the present and the past‍—are contingent on the future, both the present and the past will be there in the future, and if they are not there they will not be contingent on it. If those two are there in the future, then they both become the future as well. Similarly, if the two‍—the past and the future‍—are contingent on the present, both the past and the future will be here in the present, and if they are not here, they will not be contingent on it. And if those two, the past and the future, are here at the present time, then they are both here and are therefore both the present as well.

Therefore, time is still just one.

4.­134

So, they think in these and other ways that ultimately no “prior limit, later limit, or the midpoint” dharmas exist at all. The Lord teaches that they are ordinary conventions. This is the

“emptiness of what transcends limits.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­135

Again, the bodhisattvas think, “If all dharmas are empty, how could the Lord have said saṃsāra does exist: ‘Saṃsāra is long for fools’;332 ‘Bhikṣus, this saṃsāra has no beginning or end’?333 Thus, he did say it exists, and since it does, those who are in saṃsāra exist, and based on that, therefore, all dharmas exist as well.” They then determine as follows: There is no dharma called saṃsāra at all. And why? Because it “has no beginning or end.” Were there to be a dharma called saṃsāra, its beginning [F.60.a] would exist and its end would exist. No dharma with a beginning and end is to be seen at all. And the lord has said, “No prior limit appears.”334

4.­136

If you say both a beginning and an end have been refuted but a middle has not been refuted, so a middle exists, that is not right, because how could there be a middle of something that does not have a beginning or an end? A “middle” exists contingent on a beginning and an end.

4.­137

But why, if there is no dharma called saṃsāra in some other form in which beings are going through life after life, did the Lord say, “Bhikṣus! This saṃsāra has no beginning and no end because no beginning limit appears. Beings obscured by ignorance and bound by craving wander in saṃsāra”?

4.­138

Again, the response is as follows: Being in saṃsāra is itself ultimately not tenable. If somebody is in saṃsāra, is the saṃsāra to be counted as permanent or impermanent? If it is permanent, it is not feasible that somebody is in saṃsāra, because it would be unchanging. Even if it is impermanent, it is not feasible that somebody is in saṃsāra, because each of the instants have perished and are no longer what they were, and the second instant arises as something quite other, so how could there be a saṃsāra there? Hence saṃsāra is the label given to the unbroken flow of compounded phenomena existing as an extended series of productions and cessations. This is the

“emptiness of no beginning and no end.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­139

Again, the bodhisattvas think, “Even though saṃsāra cannot be apprehended, when dharmas have been transformed, ‘nirvāṇa’ exists. You cannot say the truth of cessation does not exist because the Lord has explicitly taught it with, ‘Bhikṣus, the unproduced, unmade, unoriginated, uncompounded exists,’335 and so on. Hence nonrepudiation336 exists.” Take “the repudiated” [F.60.b] as the five aggregates, because they are to be repudiated and they are to be made nonexistent. In the sacred words of the Tathāgata Kāśyapa337 the label the repudiated is given to the five aggregates. And now338 as well “the one suffering existence to be repudiated” and “the five suffering existences to be repudiated” are explained. The thing to be repudiated not being there is called nonrepudiation. Where the aggregates will have stopped is called nonrepudiation. Hence it is cessation.

4.­140

The bodhisattvas then determine as follows: It is not correct that there is any “nonrepudiation” phenomenon at all. The nonexistence of the aggregates is nonrepudiation, and that nonexistence of the aggregates is the nirvāṇa without any aggregates remaining, characterized as the nonexistence of everything. So you cannot make a presentation of it in any way in the form of some other phenomenon. Hence the expression nonexistent thing is an expression synonymous with nirvāṇa, cessation, all compounded phenomena at peace, nonrepudiation, and so on.

4.­141

But if nirvāṇa does not exist how will compounded phenomena not arise? Therefore, the dharma that counteracts the recurrence of compounded phenomena is nirvāṇa.

4.­142

That is not tenable either. How could there ever be compounded phenomena that have passed into nirvāṇa? If compounded phenomena do pass into nirvāṇa, it must be reckoned some permanent or impermanent thing is passing into nirvāṇa. If you say “something permanent is passing into nirvāṇa,” that is untenable. Something permanent never changes, and there is no need for it to pass into nirvāṇa.

4.­143

If you say “something impermanent339 is passing into nirvāṇa,” it would be impermanent; therefore, since it would have been destroyed it would not arise again. And passing into nirvāṇa does nothing to an entity that does not arise. And even if you say that nirvāṇa acts to counteract the other compounded phenomena that are the cause of its arising, they are also not there. [F.61.a] It is the fire of the extraordinary path that burns the seed of the tree of ignorance into an entity that will not arise again. Not arising in its nature‍—that is labeled nirvāṇa. And if even in the śrāvaka system there is no “nirvāṇa” at all in the form of some other dharma, it goes without saying there is none in the emptiness system. This realization is the

“emptiness of nonrepudiation.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­144

Again, the bodhisattvas think, “If all attributes340 are empty it is untenable that, based on the behaviors and thoughts, instincts, interests, dispositions, and personality types‍— needy and so on‍—constituting the basic nature of beings,341 the knowledge of various dispositions, the knowledge of various interests, the knowledge of various basic personalities and so on that are the special attributes of a buddha become operational attributes. Therefore, those attributes of a basic nature ultimately exist.”

4.­145

The bodhisattvas then determine as follows: It is not right to describe them as attributes like that in the form of something quite other, because they are particular periods in a being’s continuum. They cannot be established as different or not different from the beings. Therefore this‍—thinking that such hypostatized attributes do not exist‍—is the

“emptiness of a basic nature.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­146

Again, the bodhisattvas think, “If all things342 are nonexistent, how can those attributes of them‍—impermanence, suffering, selflessness, and so on‍—exist? It is impossible to have an attribute without an attribute possessor. Thus, all compounded things are impermanent; all things with outflows are suffering; all things are selfless, and when that perfect knowledge of reality is seen and attained, [F.61.b] freedom from the suffering of all existences is established.”

4.­147

The bodhisattvas then determine as follows: The impermanence attribute and so on cannot be the ultimate attribute. How could an ultimate attribute be impermanent, arise, and be destroyed? An attribute that changes and transforms cannot be an “ultimate.” Just that which is true, that which is unmistaken, is their ultimate.343 Therefore the ultimate does not change and nothing inheres in it.

4.­148

Similarly, if an attribute in the form of suffering that serves as an ultimate were to exist then suffering would be permanent. And in that case, because the permanent suffering would always be there, ordinary or extraordinary happiness would never arise again.

4.­149

Similarly, if a “selfless” attribute existed as the ultimate then selflessness would inhere in all things and they would become permanent. And were they to have become so, “liberation” would not be a state to be accomplished. Therefore, these basic natures of imaginary phenomena are just imaginary. The emptiness of all dharmas is not something that can be examined. Hence this is the

“emptiness of all dharmas.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­150

Again, the bodhisattvas think,344 “Even if, for the time being, impermanence and so on do not, as general characterizing marks, exist, still those marks particular to something‍—‘easily breakable,’ ‘seeable’ that is the mark345 of a form or physical object, ‘experience’ that is the mark of feeling, and so on‍—do exist. Since they exist, form and so on also exist.”

4.­151

They then determine as follows: Are these marks different from the bases of the marks or not different? If they are not different, it is not correct that “just that is the mark, and just that is the basis of the marks,” because if the basis of a mark is not established, [F.62.a] the mark is not different than that and hence is not established. How could it be established as its mark?

4.­152

If they are different, then the following investigation has to be pursued: Does the mark exist before the basis of the mark, or does it come about afterward, or are they there at the same time?

4.­153

If the mark is there before the basis of the mark, then of what, in the absence of the basis of the mark, is it the mark? If just a mark without a basis exists there before, then later on it will be without a basis as well.

4.­154

If the basis of the mark is there before and the mark comes about later, in that case the basis of the mark comes about without a mark before the mark is there, so why would it not be without a mark afterward as well? If the basis of the mark without a mark is already there before, later when it gets the mark, having come about without cause that mark will serve no function at all.

4.­155

If the basis of the mark and the mark have come about at the same time, then that is a new discovery indeed‍—a basis of the mark that is different from the mark, and a mark that is different from the basis of the mark. So how could the bifurcation “this is the mark; this is the basis of the mark” be right? Therefore, the marks of imaginary dharmas are just falsely imagined, and hence unable to bear ultimate scrutiny. This is the

“emptiness of its own mark.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­156

Again, the bodhisattvas think, “If all attributes cannot be apprehended, in that case an attribute that cannot be apprehended in the form of something quite other would exist. If that which cannot be apprehended is taken to be nonexistent then all attributes can be apprehended. Therefore, what cannot be apprehended does exist.”

4.­157

They then determine as follows: It is not correct that an attribute that cannot be apprehended in the form of something quite other exists. If the attribute called “cannot be apprehended” in the form of something quite other exists, [F.62.b] an apprehending apart from that which cannot be apprehended would also exist. On account of that, that which cannot be apprehended would become an apprehended entity. And that is unsuitable because it stands negated‍—to be itself apprehended and to be itself something that cannot be apprehended is a contradiction. And even if it is thought, in regard to what cannot be apprehended, that apprehending is not there, in that case what cannot be apprehended also, because it cannot be apprehended, is just nonexistent. Therefore there is no apprehending of “an attribute that ‘cannot be apprehended’ in the form of something quite other exists”; rather, given the fact that attributes cannot be apprehended, that is merely labeling “it cannot be apprehended” onto this or that. Therefore, this is the

“emptiness of not apprehending.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­158

Again, the bodhisattvas think, “It has been explained that346

“all dharmas are in their intrinsic nature nonexistent things,”347 P18k P25k

so the intrinsic nature of a ‘nonexistent thing’ as it pertains to every dharma has to be searched for. Therefore, because it is established as being in its intrinsic nature a nonexistent thing,348 a dharma ‘in its intrinsic nature a nonexistent thing’ exists. But if it is thought, ‘If dharmas are things that are nonexistent in their nature, then one would be saying “dharmas do not exist,” and what gain would there be in that?’ it is not so. There is a great gain because, when it has been accepted that ‘all falsely imagined dharmas are nonexistent in each and every way,’ it is being said that just those falsely imagined dharmas are there as the intrinsic nature of nonexistent things, so it becomes an explanation of the existence of one side of dharmas.”

4.­159

They then determine as follows: What is the meaning of this statement, “all dharmas are in their intrinsic nature nonexistent things”P18k ? This “all dharmas” teaches falsely imagined dharmas and thoroughly established dharmas. Among these, falsely imagined dharmas do not exist, so it is said they are “in their intrinsic nature absolutely nonexistent things.” [F.63.a] Thoroughly established dharmas are suchness in the aspect of existent things when they have been stopped.349 So, taking “nonexistent thing” in this sense,350 it says “in its intrinsic nature a nonexistent thing.”

4.­160

An “existent thing” is so called because it has come into being. Hence a compounded phenomenon is called an “existent thing.” When it has stopped, that which is the inexpressible aspect of private self-awareness is called “the intrinsic nature when there is no existent thing,”351 taught as “suchness.”

4.­161

In that way, with just this, the existence and the nonexistence of all dharmas have been explained. And because the Lord has said,352

“They see perfectly that that in which something does not exist is empty of it, they know perfectly about that which is still left over in it, that ‘it is here,’ ”

therefore the characteristic mark of all dharmas‍—that they are in their intrinsic nature nonexistent‍—is absolutely not realized.353 This is

“the emptiness of the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­162

“The suchness of all dharmas, the suchness of the dharma-constituent, and the suchness of the very limit of reality”‍— P18k P25k P100k

it is true that suchness is always one. Nevertheless, it is presented as three in reference to its different bases: at the level of the knowledge of path aspects, at the level of the knowledge of all aspects, and at the all-knowledge level. The thoroughly established nature of any outer or inner dharma is “the suchness of all dharmas,” for example the suchness of a shape, the suchness of a sound, the suchness of a smell, and so on. The dharma body of all buddhas, the transformed tathāgata­garbha, is the second “suchness of the dharma-constituent” because it is the basis of all the buddhadharmas. The śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha nirvāṇa without remaining aggregates is “the suchness that is the very limit of reality.” That is what is being talked about where it says [F.63.b]

“ ‘I should not actualize the very limit of reality,’ ” P18k

“or ‘do not appropriate’ a life in saṃsāra,” P18k

and

“but still do not actualize the very limit of reality.”354 P18k

4.­163

Furthermore, it speaks about the earlier “suchness of all dharmas” to teach that it is comprehended at the eighth level as effortlessly without conceptualization. As for this, it should be understood as being spoken about to teach the level when the end has been reached.

4.­164

“Want to know how many tiny particles of earth there are” P18k P25k P100k

teaches, according to The Ten Bhūmis, the special qualities of the operation of knowledge on the tiny particles and so on.355

4.­165

“Want to blunt with the tip of one finger”‍— P18k P25k P100k

just like walls and so on that have blunted the force of the wind, the single tip of a finger blunts the shaking wind that pervades all world regions as does a wall and so on.

4.­166

“Want their single cross-legged posture to expand into and fill up…”‍— P18k P25k P100k

they want their posture to cover space, expanding into it and filling it up.

4.­167

“With a single alms bowl” P18k P25k P100k

means with what they eat at one time, with what they eat at the proper time.

4.­168

“How, Lord… when bodhisattva great beings are giving a gift?” P18k P25k P100k

“How do they complete the six perfections with the perfection of giving alone?”

4.­169

“The perfection of concentration… because of not being distracted and not constructing any ideas”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because they are not distracted when they give a gift and then do not construct any idea about it they therefore complete the perfection of concentration.

4.­170

“The perfection of wisdom… by way of not apprehending the knowledge of all dharmas” P18k P25k P100k

is saying that they know all phenomena with wisdom so they do not apprehend.

4.­171

“The flesh eye, divine eye,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on‍—the flesh eye is the form body eye. The divine eye knows all meditative stabilizations, absorptions, and clairvoyances. [F.64.a] The wisdom eye knows the knowledge of a knower of all. The Dharma eye knows the path wherever it goes, higher and lower faculties, various dispositions, and various constituents.356 The knowledge of a worthy one’s path included in the vajropama meditative stabilization is the buddha eye.

4.­172

“Moreover, Śāriputra, bodhisattva great beings who want to hear the entire doctrine that the lord buddhas in all world systems in all ten directions explain, and having heard it take it up perfectly by applying the power of memory uninterruptedly, and who do not want any to be lost up until they awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening should train in the perfection of wisdom.” P18k P25k P100k

This passage is self-explanatory.

4.­173

“Blinding darkness”‍— P18k P25k P100k

the regions between worlds are “blinding.”357

They want the greatnesses of buddhas

4.­174

“Want to train in the tathāgatas’ way of carrying themselves”‍— P18k P25k P100k

it says this because the secrets of the body358 are within the range of those who have attained the tenth level.

4.­175

“Look down as an elephant looks”‍— P18k P25k P100k

this is the gaze of holy beings. They do not look up at359 what is above, look down at what is below, look to the sides360 at what is to the right or left, twist their neck361 to look at what is behind, concentrate to look at what is far off, or look without concentrating at what is close by. This says that however they are carrying themselves and however they are looking, they “look down as an elephant looks” because they look at all beings and all dharmas in all world systems.362

4.­176

It is said that

“walk, stand, sit”363 P18k P25k P100k

are the three ways they carry themselves when at the site of awakening; and

“lie down” P18k P25k P100k

is when they pass into the great complete nirvāṇa. At both those times the ordinary earth cannot shake.

4.­177

What would the fault be if all the earth [F.64.b] on which the Tathāgata trod were to have

“become all diamond?” P18k P25k P100k

4.­178

It is because the five sorts of sense objects would not come about:

“in order to brings beings to maturity… taking to the five sorts of sense objects.”364 P18k P25k P100k

4.­179

It is true that bodhisattvas on the eighth level, like worthy ones, are totally

“without afflictions,” P25k P100k

and hence without even the faintest habituation to afflictive emotion, so they could never

“make use of” P18k P25k P100k

the five sorts of sense objects. Nevertheless, our Bodhisattva,

“skilled” P25k P100k

in the ways of gathering a retinue,365 in order to gather beings through the consistency between his words and deeds magically produces duplicates of himself for each of twenty-four thousand women and thrills them all. Hence, he made a show of Yaśodharā and the other twenty-four thousand women and the nine thousand dancers together with their many attendants, and he made a show of old age, sickness, and death‍—there is nothing he did not do among the gods and Brahmās, bringing them to maturity in the three vehicles. Therefore, he made a show of using sense objects in order to bring beings to maturity. Thus, it says,366

4.­180

“Then the Bodhisattva had this thought:

4.­181
“ ‘I know that without end are the faults of sense objects, the roots of suffering with their death,367 enmity, and pain,
Scary, like poison, like a mesmerizing diagram,368 like fire, like the blades of swords. I have no yearning desire
For the different sorts of sense objects. I do not deck myself out for life in the women’s quarters.
Rather, I would live quietly in the forest at peace in my mind with the happiness of the concentrations and meditative stabilizations.’
4.­182

“But still, having made an analysis and realized the skillful means, looking to bring beings to maturity he felt great compassion and at that time pronounced this verse:

4.­183
“ ‘The lotus grows in the swamp;369 the king crowded around by men gets honor. When bodhisattvas acquire a mighty retinue [F.65.a]
They tame one hundred million billion beings with divine nectar.370 All earlier bodhisattvas with skillful means
Made a show371 of wives, offspring, and women; unattached to sense objects, they did not destroy
The ease of concentration, so I too will follow them in learning those qualities.’ ”
4.­184

Qualm: If his enjoyment of sexual pleasure is not true, then it is a lie to say Rāhula is his son.

It is not a lie, because “son” is said not only of someone born from a womb on account of the enjoyment of sexual pleasure. There are also those born miraculously. Holy Rāhula, furthermore, was a bodhisattva great being who made a show of gestating in the womb because there was a purpose in doing so.

4.­185

The second chapter, Production of the Thought. P18k

The “thought” here should be taken as wanting. It says “Production of the Thought chapter” to teach that wanting has arisen for all the qualities of a bodhisattva and all the qualities of a buddha.372

[B6]

How bodhisattvas endeavor

4.­186

Having thus taught, in response to “why bodhisattvas endeavor,” that they have to endeavor to train in this now, in response to “how bodhisattvas endeavor,” in the passage,

Venerable Śāriputra having thus inquired, the Lord said to him, “Śāriputra, here bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom do not, even while they are bodhisattvas, see a bodhisattva. They do not see even the word bodhisattva. They do not see awakening either, and they do not see the perfection of wisdom. They do not see that ‘they practice,’ and they do not see that ‘they do not practice.’ They also do not see that ‘while practicing they practice and while not practicing do not practice,’ and they also do not see that ‘they do not practice, and do not not practice as well.’ They do not see form. [F.65.b] Similarly, they do not see feeling, perception, volitional factors, or consciousness either,”373 P18k P25k P100k

and so on, it teaches that they have to endeavor at practicing this. Śāriputra’s question,

4.­187

“Lord, how then should bodhisattva great beings practice the perfection of wisdom?” P18k P25k P100k

about the threefold dharma‍—the bodhisattva, the perfection of wisdom, and the practice of it‍—is posed in a mode together with apprehending and with causal signs.

4.­188

Then, to eliminate those ways of apprehending, the Lord, by teaching three ways of not apprehending a bodhisattva, not apprehending the perfection of wisdom, and four ways of not apprehending practice speaks about the emptiness of not apprehending. The three absences of apprehending of a bodhisattva are not apprehending a bodhisattva, not apprehending a name, and not apprehending awakening.

4.­189

As for “even while they are bodhisattvas,” this is to stop the extreme of over-negation because there are true-dharmic-nature bodhisattvas. They “do not… see a bodhisattva” because of not apprehending a bodhisattva. “They do not see even the word” that is falsely imagined in nature. “They do not see awakening either,” because, apart from the transformation of the basis, a phenomenon with the name awakening does not exist. “And they do not see the perfection of wisdom,” because, apart from the pure dharma-constituent, a perfection of wisdom dharma does not exist. “They also do not see that ‘they practice’ ” because there is nothing to be done for all the qualities. “And they do not see that ‘they do not practice,’ ” because even though action has been taken as nonexistent, there is a purification of the dharma-constituent. “They also do not see that ‘while practicing they practice and while not practicing they do not practice,’ ” [F.66.a] that is, they do not, having combined them into one, see both, because those exact same two faults occur. “And they also do not see that ‘they do not practice, and do not not practice as well,’ ” because, even though the nonexistence as the two like that has been stated, that mental image of the nonexistence as the two is a mental image that does not exist, so they do not see it.

4.­190

Having thus earlier taught that a bodhisattva does not exist on account of the emptiness of a person, now on account of the emptiness of the dharmas it teaches, “They do not see form. Similarly, they do not see feeling,” and so on. Therefore one does not exist in the form of the five aggregates either.

4.­191

Having taught that such options for practice374 cannot be apprehended, with

“and why?” P18k P25k P100k

it teaches the reason why. In order to teach that “the name bodhisattva” and so on cannot be apprehended, and the “emptiness” of that can be apprehended, it says

“the name bodhisattva is empty of the intrinsic nature of a name. The name bodhisattva is not empty because of emptiness,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. Thus, the name bodhisattva is falsely imagined and they do not exist with that falsely imagined intrinsic nature, but that which is the emptiness that is the nonexistence, that does exist.375 Therefore, that “name bodhisattva is not empty because of emptiness.” This avoids the extremes of over-reification and over-negation.

Hence, it teaches that the name bodhisattva does not exist on account of the intrinsic nature of the name.

4.­192

“The perfection of wisdom, too,” P18k P100k

does not exist in the form of a falsely imagined dharma. It does exist in the form of the pure dharma-constituent. The aggregates also do not exist on account of the intrinsic nature of the aggregates, but they do exist on account of the intrinsic nature that is the nonexistence of the aggregates.

4.­193

Someone might still doubt this, so it says, “And why?” and teaches the reason.

What is the doubt? It is that if all those dharmas do not exist on account of the intrinsic nature of the dharmas, [F.66.b] but do exist on account of the intrinsic nature of the emptinesses, then “the dharmas exist” would become a fact, and since just those that are “the dharmas that exist” would be sufficient, what is the use of saying they are emptinesses or anything else? It says,

“Because the emptiness of the name bodhisattva is not the name bodhisattva…” P18k

4.­194

What does this teach? You cannot say, “The name bodhisattva is one thing and emptiness is another, so, because emptiness exists, therefore the name bodhisattva exists as well.” Similarly, you cannot say, “A bodhisattva is one thing and emptiness is another, so, because emptiness exists, a bodhisattva exists as well.” Construe the others like that also.

4.­195

Having taught that, it addresses the doubt of others who think, “If emptiness is one thing and a dharma another, then the true nature of a dharma will be different than the dharma, and the dharma will be different than the true nature of the dharma, and that is not correct.” It says

“and there is no name bodhisattva apart from emptiness.” P18k

This means the emptiness of the name bodhisattva is not something other than the name bodhisattva, so the dharma is not something other than the true nature of the dharma.

4.­196

Others still doubt this, thinking that if a dharma does not differ from emptiness, and if emptiness exists, in that case the dharma will exist as well. It says

“the name bodhisattva itself is emptiness.” P18k

Just that thoroughly established name bodhisattva, free from a falsely imagined nature, is itself emptiness, and there is no “emptiness” other than that.

4.­197

“And emptiness is the name bodhisattva as well” P18k

is the conclusion. This means that because the name bodhisattva is to be used for this, the thoroughly established nature, it is not to be used for the imaginary, [F.67.a] so only “emptiness is the name bodhisattva.” Similarly, construe “bodhisattva” and “awakening” with that in the same way as well.

4.­198

The emptiness of the bodhisattva is not the bodhisattva. There is no bodhisattva apart from emptiness. The bodhisattva is emptiness. Emptiness is the bodhisattva as well.376 P18k

Thus, in this explanation, earlier it has said that “a bodhisattva is empty of the intrinsic nature of a bodhisattva, but… not empty because of emptiness.” Were it to have said that bodhisattvas exist with emptiness as their intrinsic nature, in that case it would have said that bodhisattvas just exist. So, it says “the emptiness of the bodhisattva is not the bodhisattva.” What it means to say is that the imaginary bodhisattva differs from emptiness so it377 does not have the fault.

4.­199

It says this, and then to someone who says that if a dharma and the true nature of a dharma are different, the true nature of a dharma would be something else, it says “there is no bodhisattva apart from emptiness,” which is to say, the thoroughly established bodhisattva is not other than emptiness. With “the bodhisattva is emptiness,” it has taught just that. It means the bodhisattva is emptiness. And again, “emptiness is the bodhisattva as well” is the conclusion. This means the thoroughly established bodhisattva and emptiness are not different.

Construe all similarly.

4.­200

Having said that others still entertain doubt, so it says

“and why?” P18k P25k P100k

and teaches the reason. To someone who thinks, “If a bodhisattva and emptiness are not even slightly different bodhisattvas would be in their intrinsic nature emptiness, and hence [F.67.b] there would be no bodhisattvas,” it says,

“because this‍—namely, bodhisattva‍—is just a name,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. Just that is exactly what we accept.

4.­201

It means this: When, given that they thus exist, you say that “they exist,” and you can suppose that “they” are the bodhisattva, the name bodhisattva, or the awakening, and so on. They all are nonexistent, which is to say imaginary phenomena are simply

“just names.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­202

“And because this‍—namely, emptiness‍—is just a name”‍— P18k P25k P100k

when you think emptiness exists and investigate, even that is just a name; it does not exist in its intrinsic nature.

4.­203

It is still not possible to be certain about this, so it says

“why?” P18k

and teaches the reason. Someone may think that if those dharmas do not exist how could what does not exist have the appearance of production and stopping? How could terrible forms of life decrease and good forms of life increase? Why would there be defilement before and purification afterward? To them, it says

“because where there is no intrinsic nature there is no production, stopping, decrease, increase, defilement, or purification.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­204

Given that all dharmas are without an intrinsic nature, if the intrinsic natures of the name bodhisattva and so on, up to those of feeling, perception, volitional factors, and consciousness, ultimately exist,378 how could they have “production, stopping, decrease, increase, defilement, and purification”?

4.­205

If there is thus one intrinsic nature, do you suppose it is a falsely imagined intrinsic nature, or is it a thoroughly established intrinsic nature?

Of those, a falsely imagined nature is absolutely nonexistent, like an illusion and so on. Just as there is no production [F.68.a] of illusory forms and so on when they appear, and no stopping when they do not appear, no decrease when they have turned into one, and no increase when they have turned into many, and just as there is not the slightest defilement or purification in them, similarly with imaginary natures. Because they are absolutely nonexistent they have no production, stopping, decrease, increase, defilement, or purification.

4.­206

Even awakening, the thoroughly established entity, is, moreover, absolutely isolated, and is beyond all imagination and like space, so it too is not produced and it also does not stop. It does not decrease and it does not increase. Because it is absolutely pure it has no defilement, and because it is pure in its intrinsic nature it has no purification.

4.­207

“And why?” P18k

“Form is like an illusion, feeling is like an illusion,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on explains. It explains, furthermore, in two parts: the nonexistence of the illusion, and the nonexistence of a grasper-subject consciousness in an illusion.

4.­208

“And an illusion is just a name that does not reside somewhere, does not reside in a particular place” P18k P25k P100k

teaches that an illusion is imaginary and therefore does not exist.

4.­209

“The sight of an illusion is mistaken and does not exist” P18k P25k P100k

teaches that consciousness does not exist.

4.­210

There, “does not reside somewhere” teaches that the illusion is not marked as having form, because dharmas having forms do not reside anywhere.379 “Does not reside in a particular place” teaches that it is not marked as formless, because dharmas marked as formless such as consciousness and so on do not reside anywhere, but still, because they are designated as residing where there are the eyes and so on, they reside in a particular place. It “is mistaken” teaches that it is not true. It “does not exist” teaches that it is marked as a nonexistent thing. [F.68.b]

4.­211

“And is devoid of an intrinsic nature” P18k P25k P100k

teaches that it does not exist in its intrinsic nature.

4.­212

“Bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom like that do not see production,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on,

“in any dharma at all” P18k P25k P100k

teaches that they understand analytically that a bodhisattva is like an illusion. There, in a falsely imagined phenomenon the two‍—

4.­213

“production… stopping”‍— P18k P25k P100k

do not exist because they are simply just appearance and nonappearance; in a dependent phenomenon the two‍—

“decrease… increase”‍— P18k P25k P100k

do not exist because they are simply just imagined; and in a thoroughly established phenomenon the two‍—

“defilement… purification”‍— P18k P25k P100k

do not exist because they are simply just in their basic nature a state of purity. Thus all phenomena do not exist in their intrinsic nature.

4.­214

But still, in order to eliminate a doubt, it says,

“And why? Because names are made up.” P18k P25k P100k

Those names and causal signs of the aggregates‍—

“form, feeling, perception,” P100k

and so on‍—are made up and do not exist on account of their own intrinsic natures. Therefore, it should be understood that all phenomena have no intrinsic nature, because an intrinsic nature would not be made up.

4.­215

As for a made-up state, that is taught by

“those interdependent dharmas,380 they are imagined,” P18k P100k

and so on.

4.­216

This means those phenomena based on conceptualized causes and conceptualized conditions that are imagined like this or like that, which are called dependent originations. Therefore, it is teaching the following: If those phenomena are contingent on something else, then they come about through the power of something else; they do not come about through their own power, in which case how could they be an intrinsic nature? Therefore, since they are without their own existence, they have an existence from something else, so it is established that all dharmas do not have their own intrinsic nature. Therefore, it is said that “the meaning of the absence of an intrinsic nature is the meaning of dependent origination.”

4.­217

Furthermore, to teach that verbal designations come from imaginary names as causes; [F.69.a] that settling down on those as real happens because of the force of the verbal designations; that the mental construction of the causes of the names happens because of the force of settling down on them as real; that verbal designations again come because of the force of that; and that yet again settling down on those as real happens because of the force of the verbal designations, that is to say, to teach that they come about in such a sequence, it says

“names plucked out of thin air working subsequently as conventional labels,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. Because they are “plucked out” based not on an intrinsic nature but on “thin air,” they are “subsequently… conventional labels,” expressions from other “names,” conventional terms‍—that is to say, this teaches verbal designations. And again,

“just as they are subsequently conventionally labeled, so too are they settled down on as real” P18k P25k P100k

teaches that they are the cause of settling down on them as real. This means that settling down on “just this is the inherent existence of dharmas” comes about through the force of the ignorance and so on that has come about through the force of the expression having become ingrained.

4.­218

Having taught the incorrect attention of foolish beings, it teaches the stages of the correct attention of bodhisattvas with,

“when bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom do not see any of those names as inherently existing,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. “Any… names” are imaginary names and causal signs. Because they are plucked out of thin air, “they do not see” them “as inherently existing”;

“because they do not see them, they do not settle down on them as real”; P18k P25k P100k

and because they have no intrinsic nature, they are simply just mistakes.

4.­219

After that,

“moreover, Śāriputra, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom think,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, teaches the correct attention in detail. They understand analytically that the person

“bodhisattvas,” P18k P25k P100k

the dharma

“awakening,” P18k P100k

the person

“the awakened one,” P18k P25k P100k

the dharmas

“the perfection of wisdom… form,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on‍—[F.69.b] the names for the dharmas‍—and even the name bodhisattva, are simply just names.

4.­220

For that there is also an explanation with an example:

“For example, Śāriputra, ‘self’ is said again and again,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. This means that even though a self can be apprehended conventionally, ultimately it is an emptiness, so it

“cannot be apprehended” P18k P25k P100k

because the mark of something that cannot be apprehended is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature. Then it also sums up what corresponds to the example with,

4.­221

“Similarly, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom also…,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. They

“do not see” P18k P25k P100k

the fivefold dharmas381 of the bodhisattvas, and so on. Because they do not see those, the causes do not exist, so

“they do not see even the names” P18k P25k P100k

and causal signs. Because they do not see those, the causes do not exist, so they do not

“settle down on them as real.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­222

“Because they do not see what would make them settle down on them as real” P18k P25k P100k

teaches that because settling down on them as real does not exist, they do not apprehend even the cause of settling down on them as real. They do not see the conventional term for a causal sign, or the causal sign on account of which the mind imagining the unreal settles down, or the mind.

4.­223

Having thus taught the practice that cannot be apprehended, it then teaches what is in harmony with that as its cause, with

“setting aside the wisdom of a tathāgata, [they]… surpass the wisdom of all śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­224

Then, to arouse enthusiasm in that retinue of trainees by teaching the greatnesses of bodhisattvas who have set forth into this practice that cannot be apprehended, it teaches their exceptional status with,

“To illustrate, Śāriputra, if this Jambudvīpa were filled with monks similar in worth to Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­225

“A thicket of naḍa reeds, or a thicket of bamboo, or a thicket of sugarcane, or a thicket of rushes, or a thicket of rice, or a thicket of sesame” [F.70.a] P18k P25k P100k

teaches only types that are inferior because they are inferior to trees, creepers, and so on, which are attractive. They are, furthermore, of three types: extremely attractive and extremely tall, middling attractive and middling tall, and least attractive and least tall. Among these, the two‍—naḍa reeds and rushes‍—are extremely attractive and extremely tall. It gives the sugarcane and bamboo in the middle because they are inferior to those and hence middling. It sets forth the rice and sesame last because they are thinner than those, hence inferior. Furthermore, among these, of the two, the rushes and the naḍa reeds, it teaches naḍa reeds first because they are hollow inside and have a lot of thorns and are themselves extremely attractive. “Rushes” teaches the species in general. Furthermore, it teaches the sugarcane before rushes because, of the two, the rushes and the sugarcane, rushes cannot stand up to even just the better and more attractive leaves of the sugarcane. And again, of the two, the rice and the sesame, it mentions rice earlier because it is bigger and more attractive than sesame.

4.­226

“would not approach … even by a hundredth part, nor by a thousandth part, nor by a hundred thousandth part; it would not stand up to any number, or fraction, or counting, or analogy, or comparison.” P18k P25k P100k

When you conclusively explain these differences, they are of four sorts: part, number, analogy, and something to do with cause and effect. Among these, from “a hundredth part” up to “a hundred thousandth part” teaches that śrāvaka wisdom does not become an object for comparison even when the bodhisattvas’ knowledge has been cut into parts; “any number, or fraction, or counting” teaches that it cannot be counted in numbers; “or analogy” teaches that there is no possible analogy for it; and “or comparison”382 teaches that it is not suitable to be something to do with cause and effect.

4.­227

There, in “even one hundredth part,” a “part,” a “bit,” and a “branch” are the same. It means

“the wisdom” P18k P25k P100k

of those monks does not stand up to even a fraction of

“the wisdom of a bodhisattva” P18k P25k P100k

even if it has been divided up into one hundred parts, one thousand parts, or even a hundred thousand parts. [F.70.b]

4.­228

Again, a numerical counting is of three types.

That which comes within the range of the words one, two, three, up to a hundred thousand, is a number counted in words. “Number” teaches that.

4.­229

A part is a calculation, a derivation, an addition, or a subtraction, and so on, performed on that which has become an object of the word for a particular number, or a calculation by reduction383 or by laying out cowrie shells and so on, or by hand. “Part” teaches that.

4.­230

Those from one hundred million billion, up to a number with no number above it, on which such calculation cannot be carried out and which are counted only through the power of clairvoyance, are a count. “Counting” teaches that.

4.­231

Similarly, some things are not the same in all essentials, but are roughly similar in some respects. It is suitable to ascertain what it is from that: for example, “a water buffalo is like a bull.” Because nothing like it exists, it says “or analogy.”

4.­232

It is similar even with something taken as an extremely different thing: because it cannot be inferred like an awareness of fire from seeing smoke, it says it does not bear “comparison.”

4.­233

The four continents are the four continents,384 and a thousand of those is the “one thousand.” A thousand of those is the “millionfold.” A thousand of those is the “billionfold.”385 With its girdle of a hundred ten million mountains, it is the “billionfold.”

“As many… as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River” P18k P25k P100k

is said to be a particular number.

4.­234

Having thus taught the greatness of a bodhisattva’s wisdom,

“venerable Śāriputra,” P18k P25k P100k

knowing how some in the retinue think, asks a question to remove their doubt with,

“Lord, the wisdom of śrāvaka stream enterers,” [F.71.a] P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­235

“All those wisdoms are not broken apart; they are a detachment, are not produced, and are empty of an intrinsic nature.” P18k P25k P100k

Doubt arises in beings, thinking that the wisdoms of them all, in the form of a fundamental transformation, are nonconceptual and extraordinary. Because they are in the form of a unity they are “not broken apart”; because they are in the form of a purity they are “a detachment”;386 because they are in the form of an uncompounded phenomenon they are “not produced”; and because they are free from an intrinsic nature that is the imagination of the unreal, they are “empty of an intrinsic nature.”

4.­236

“Variation”‍— P18k P25k P100k

things that are just plucked out of thin air under the power of causes and conditions are the variety.

4.­237

“Distinction” P18k P25k P100k

is from having different intrinsic natures.

4.­238

“So how, Lord, could…” P18k P25k P100k

is asking how, given that the wisdoms have the same intrinsic nature, could it be right that one surpasses another?

4.­239

With

“what do you think, Śāriputra,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, the Lord teaches that there are no distinctions in that intrinsic nature, but still, because of the force of an earlier prayer that is a vow there is a different cause and there is a different result. The cause, furthermore, is threefold: intention, practice, and work. The results are two: complete awakening and turning the wheel of the Dharma. There,

4.­240

“furnished with the best of all aspects” P18k P25k P100k

teaches the greatness of motivation;

“practicing the knowledge of all aspects” P18k P25k P100k

teaches the greatness of practice; and

“working for the welfare of all beings” P18k P25k P100k

teaches the greatness of work.

“Having fully awakened to all dharmas in all forms” P18k P25k P100k

teaches a feature of the result‍—complete awakening;

“lead all beings to complete nirvāṇa” P18k P25k P100k

teaches turning the wheel of the Dharma.

4.­241

Then [F.71.b] there are three connected sections387 of teachings: a section to do with śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas not having the bodhisattvas’ earlier prayer that is a vow, a section to do with them not having the cause-and-effect prayer that is a vow, and a section to do with a bodhisattva having both.

4.­242

There, the section teaching not having the earlier prayer is the passage from,388

“What do you think, Śāriputra, do all śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas think, ‘We must, having fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening,’ ” P18k P25k P100k

4.­243

and so on, up to

“hence it surpasses the wisdom of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas.” P18k

4.­244

The bodhisattvas’ earlier prayer that is a vow is in the form of wisdom and compassion, so, taking hold of complete awakening with wisdom and taking hold of beings with compassion, it operates with the twofold nature in “I must, having become awakened, awaken others too.” Hence in this section to do with the earlier prayer is a teaching about complete awakening and leading beings to complete nirvāṇa.

4.­245

Then, the section teaching not having the cause-and-effect prayer is the passage from,

“What do you think, Śāriputra, do all these śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas think, ‘We must, having practiced the six perfections,’ ” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, up to

“ ‘lead infinite, countless beings beyond measure to complete nirvāṇa.’ ” P18k P25k P100k

4.­246

This section teaches six things: four causes‍—the work that brings personal maturity, brings beings to maturity, purifies a buddhafield, and brings the buddhadharmas to maturity‍—and two results: complete awakening and beings who are in complete nirvāṇa. The prayer that is a vow during the time of practice comes next.

4.­247

The section teaching that bodhisattvas have them both [F.72.a] is the passage from,

“Śāriputra, a bodhisattva great being thinks…,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, up to

“lead infinite, countless beings beyond measure to complete nirvāṇa.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­248

After that it teaches about śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, using the analogy of

“fireflies,” P18k P25k P100k

and then teaches about bodhisattvas, using the analogy of

“the sun” P18k P25k P100k

dawning. The teaching of the topic in this section of the text with the two analogies is clear, so there is no need to teach what it means. Again, after that, to remove the retinue’s doubts, the venerable Śāriputra asks three questions, beginning with,

“How, Lord, do bodhisattva great beings, having passed…,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on: How do they stand, having passed beyond the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha levels; how do they stand, having reached the irreversible level; and how do they stand while purifying the awakening path? Then the Lord teaches that from

“their first”‍— P18k P25k P100k

on the Pramuditā level‍—

“production of the thought onward” P18k P25k P100k

after passing beyond the first uncountable eon, their conceptualization of

“emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness” P18k P25k P100k

that are the marks of all

4.­249

“dharmas” P18k

causes them to pass

4.­250

“beyond the śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha level”; P18k P25k P100k

having passed beyond those to reach

“the irreversible” P18k P25k P100k

eighth

“level”; P18k P25k P100k

and with

“the [six] perfections” P18k P25k P100k

that come to maturity, purify the awakening path.

4.­251

Then the venerable Śāriputra is of two minds about whether the moment they pass beyond the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha level they become worthy of their offerings or whether it is at some other time, so he makes an inquiry with,

“Standing on which level, Lord, do bodhisattva [great beings],” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.389 Then the Lord, with

4.­252

“in the interval from their first production of the thought,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, teaches that they are worthy of their offerings the moment they reach the Pramuditā level. It teaches the reason for that with,

“Because Śāriputra, it is thanks to bodhisattva great beings that all wholesome dharmas appear in the world,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. [F.72.b]

4.­253

Then there are three sections that teach those dharmas: the section teaching wholesome dharmas with and without outflows, the section teaching the maturation of the wholesome with outflows, and the section teaching the maturation of the wholesome without outflows. In regard to the section teaching wholesome dharmas with and without outflows there are three sections: teaching the dharmas of householders, male lay practitioners, and female lay practitioners; teaching the dharmas of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas; and teaching the dharmas of buddhas.

4.­254

“The ten wholesome actions, the morality with five branches, the morality with eight branches”‍— P18k P25k P100k

those three dharmas are morality, and the dharmas of male lay practitioners, and female lay practitioners. Those starting with

“the concentrations” P18k P25k P100k

and ending with

“the path” P18k P25k P100k

are the dharmas of śrāvakas. The dharmas starting with

“the perfections” P18k P100k

and ending with the

“distinct attributes of a buddha” P18k P25k P100k

are the dharmas of buddhas.

4.­255

Then,

“because those wholesome dharmas appear in the world, there are great sāla tree-like royal families in the world,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, teaches beings included in the desire, form, and formless realms, so it teaches the maturation of the wholesome with outflows.

4.­256

“stream enterers appear in the world,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, is a teaching about all the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas and

“the perfectly complete buddhas,” P18k P25k P100k

so it teaches the maturation of the wholesome without outflows. As for

“purifies the offering,” P18k P25k P100k

it says “purifies the offering” about those for whom there is a great and a purified result when they offer to them.

4.­257

“Because the offering is absolutely pure” P18k P25k P100k

is teaching that this is the true dharmic nature of the bodhisattvas’ offering, because they are

“a giver.” P18k P25k P100k

The defining marks of those who endeavor

4.­258

It has thus taught how they should endeavor. [F.73.a] To teach “the defining marks of those who endeavor,”

Śāriputra P18k P25k

makes an inquiry about them:390

“Lord, how are bodhisattva great beings who engage with391 the perfection of wisdom ‘engaged’?” P18k P25k P100k

4.­259

Then

the Lord P18k P25k P100k

brings all dharmas together in seven separate groups‍—aggregates, constituents, sense fields, noble truths, dependent origination, all compounded phenomena, and all uncompounded dharmas392‍—and says,

“You cannot say… that they ‘are engaged’ or ‘are not engaged.’ ” P18k P25k P100k

4.­260

He does so to teach that

“when” P18k P25k P100k

they

“are practicing with these seven emptinesses,” P18k P25k P100k

you cannot say, first of all, that they “are engaged” because they do not fulfill how they should endeavor just by that; and you cannot say they “are not engaged” because they have started the endeavor.

4.­261

For those who entertain the doubt about how they would then engage, it says

“and why?” P18k P25k P100k

and then says they engage when they practice a fourfold emptiness:

the intrinsic nature of each‍—of form and so on, separately‍—that cannot be apprehended;

the intrinsic nature of them as a collection that cannot be apprehended;

their defining marks that cannot be apprehended; and

the totality of dharmas that cannot be apprehended.

4.­262

It teaches this in detail, from

“because they do not see form as qualified by production or qualified by stopping,” P18k P25k P100k

up to

“they do not see393 a pratyekabuddha’s awakening, a buddha, or awakening.” P18k

The intrinsic nature of each‍—of form and so on, separately‍—that cannot be apprehended

4.­263

“Because they do not see form as qualified by production or qualified by stopping” means “has production as its intrinsic nature or has stopping as its intrinsic nature.” If form had production as its intrinsic nature, it would not have stopping as its intrinsic nature; if it had stopping as its intrinsic nature, it would not have production as its intrinsic nature, because the existence of two intrinsic natures in one thing is a complete contradiction.

4.­264

Were a form to have the dharma called production, [F.73.b] there would be four ways to conceive of it: as being produced from itself, produced from other, produced from both, or produced without a cause. Of these, it is not logical that it is produced from itself because at that time it is a dharma that has not been produced, and a nonexistent entity is not suitable to be the cause of production. Were that dharma to exist prior to production that also would be illogical, because the production again of something that already exists is illogical. When you investigate a production from something that exists, the production would happen at all times and there would never be nonproduction. Hence production from self is illogical.

4.­265

Production from other is illogical too, because if other things were produced from something other, then everything would be produced from everything.

And production from both does not escape those two faults either.

4.­266

Production without a cause is also illogical because everything would be produced everywhere. When you analyze like that, ultimately there is no production. As it is said,394

4.­267
There are never any things
Anywhere produced
From self, other, both,
Or without a cause.
4.­268

It is not logical that it has the dharma of stopping either, because it has no production. Thus, something produced stops, and something not produced does not stop. Furthermore, if there were a dharma called stopped, would it be categorized as a dharma that exists or that does not exist? Of these, if it does exist it is not feasible that it stops because both existing and not existing are impossible in one thing. If it does not exist, it is not tenable that it stops because it is nonexistent. Thus, like a rabbit’s horn, to say “it stops” is unsuitable. Again, it is said,395

4.­269
If just that producing
Of all things is not feasible,
Then the stopping
Of all things is not feasible.
4.­270
Existing and not existing
Are not feasible in one thing.
4.­271
Stopping what does not exist
Is also not feasible,
Just as there is
No second decapitation. [F.74.a]
4.­272

Thus production and stopping are imaginary phenomena, simply just conventions. They do not ultimately exist. Thus, it says, “Because they do not see form as qualified by production or qualified by stopping…”

4.­273

Similarly, “defilement” or “purification” of form and so on is not feasible. Were something to be defilement in its intrinsic nature, purification would never happen because an intrinsic nature is not something that can be given up. If it were to be qualified by purification, thoroughly pure in its intrinsic nature, defilement would never happen. Furthermore, if dharmas have become a defilement you can suppose it happens to what was a defilement or was pure. If what were defilement became defiled, defilement would be meaningless because you do not have to produce defilement in what is already defiled. And as long as that is the case,396 defilement would be produced again and again, and purification would never happen.

4.­274

And it is also not feasible that that which is pure are the defilements because that entails a contradiction.

4.­275

Similarly, with purification, you can suppose it happens to what was a defilement or was pure. There could be no purification of what was a defilement because those two things exclude each other. And it is also illogical that purification is of that which is pure, because it is pure, so that would be meaningless.

4.­276

Hence, defilement and purification are ultimately not there, but still, onto the suchness that is pure in its intrinsic nature, during the ordinary person phase, defilement that is just plucked out of thin air is merely labeled as defilement, [F.74.b] and during the pure phase the nonexistence of the defilement that is plucked out of thin air is merely labeled as purification. It is not feasible that they are the true dharmic nature of form and so on. Thus it says,

“They do not see form as qualified by defilement or qualified by purification.” P18k P25k P100k

The intrinsic nature of them as a collection that cannot be apprehended

4.­277

Thus, how form and so on have no intrinsic nature has been explained. Now, they

“do not see ‘a confluence of form with feeling,’ ” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, teaches that a collection does not have the defining mark of an aggregate. An aggregate means they have aggregated. It would exist were it possible that those that have aggregated are a confluence, but there is no confluence of dharmas.397 Hence it has taught that “there is not even the defining mark of an aggregate.”398

4.­278

Suppose there were a confluence of dharmas‍—still it would be unmistaken,399 or it would have one defining mark. As for form, it is not together with feeling and so on and unmistaken. They have different defining marks. Similarly, it is not feasible that feeling and so on is together in a confluence with form. And so too with feeling, perception, volitional factors, and consciousness‍—each has its own particular defining mark, so how could those things that have their own marks and are completely different be in a confluence in an aggregate with a single intrinsic nature?

4.­279

Furthermore, beside form, feeling and so on, those phenomena that are constituted of form and feeling and so on are imaginary, are like an illusion, empty of a basic nature. Just as things like illusory horses and elephants and so on are not ultimately collected into one, similarly imaginary form and so on are also not collected into one.

4.­280

Those that are constituted of the suchnesses of form and so on are also just empty of a basic nature. There,

“because they are empty of a basic nature” P18k P25k P100k

teaches [F.75.a] that just as space is not collected together with space, so too with the true dharmic natures of form and so on.

4.­281

This just teaches the heading. Thus connect this with: form is not collected together with feeling, and feeling and so on are not collected together with form; feeling is not collected together with perception and so on, and perception and so on are not collected together with feeling; perception is not collected together with volitional factors and so on, and volitional factors and so on are not collected together with perception; and volitional factors are not collected together with consciousness, and consciousness is not collected together with volitional factors.

[B7]

Their defining marks that cannot be apprehended

4.­282

Now, to eliminate those specific defining marks of form and so on, it teaches

“that emptiness of form is not form,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. Thus, it teaches that when they have engaged in the correct practice of emptiness, and imaginary form, and so on not appearing as the mark of form and so on, but appearing as the mark of emptiness,400 at that time “that emptiness of form is not form.”

4.­283

Thinking,

“And why?” P18k

it says,

“Because, Śāriputra, that emptiness of form is not seeable.”401 P18k P25k P100k

4.­284

Form is the word used when there is the defining mark seeable. Thus, in emptiness there is nothing that shows itself, so it is not form; thus there is no

“experience,” P18k P25k P100k

so it is not feeling; thus there is no

“being collected together and knowing,”402 P18k P25k P100k

so it is not perception; thus there is no

“occasioning anything,” P18k P25k P100k

so it is not volitional factors; thus, in that emptiness there is no

“making conscious,” P18k P25k P100k

so it is not consciousness.

4.­285

Thus, those specific defining marks of form and so on are eliminated. Having said that, [F.75.b] entertaining the doubt that if the defining mark that is being seeable and so on is not there, the words for form and so on will not refer to anything, it says,

“And why?” P18k P25k P100k

and with,

“Because… form is not one thing and emptiness another; emptiness is not one thing and form another,” P18k P25k P100k

it teaches that the words for form and so on should be taken to refer to the form and so on that is its true dharmic nature, that emptiness and form and so on are not different.

The totality of dharmas that cannot be apprehended

4.­286

Therefore, with

“form is itself emptiness, and emptiness is form,” P18k P25k P100k

it teaches that all dharmas as a totality, as well as the words for form and so on, should be taken to refer to emptiness, and the word for emptiness should be taken to refer to the form and so on that is its true dharmic nature. The emptiness spoken of earlier teaches all aspects.403

4.­287

As for,

“Śāriputra, that emptiness is not produced and does not stop,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, because of being produced and stopping, it

“does not decrease and does not increase,” P18k P25k P100k

so it

“is not past, is not future, and is not present.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­288

Because the mark of form and so on does not exist, the totality of dharmas cannot be apprehended in that, and therefore it teaches,

“In such as that,” P18k P25k P100k

where the totality of dharmas cannot be apprehended,

“there is no form, there is no feeling, there is no perception,” P18k P25k P100k

up to

“there is no buddha; there is no awakening.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­289

Having thus taught elevenfold404 the marks of the endeavor,405 it then teaches that

they have forsaken the idea that they are “engaged” or “not engaged” with self;

they have forsaken the idea that they are “engaged” or “not engaged” with the three gateways to liberation;

they have forsaken the idea that they are “engaged” or “not engaged” with the marks particular to dharmas;

they have forsaken joining dharmas with limits;

they have forsaken joining limits one with the other;

they have forsaken joining dharmas with the three time periods;

they have forsaken joining dharmas with the knowledge of all aspects; [F.76.a]

they have forsaken joining all dharmas with originating and perishing;406

they have forsaken joining all dharmas with being permanent and so on;

they have forsaken joining just those with the doors to liberation;

they have forsaken joining dharmas in the various ways;407

they have forsaken joining with the clairvoyances;

they have forsaken joining with the objects of the clairvoyances;

they have forsaken the idea of coming together and separating;

they have forsaken the idea of complete awakening; and

they have forsaken the idea of joining with emptiness.

4.­290

Thus, when they train in the practice of emptiness they endeavor at the perfection of wisdom in sixteen ways.

4.­291

Among those,

“they do not see the practice of the perfection of wisdom as either ‘engaged’ or ‘not engaged’ with form”408 P18k P25k P100k

because they do not entertain the idea that the self is an agent and so on, so grasping at “I” is not operating.

4.­292

“Neither cause emptiness to engage with emptiness”‍— P18k P25k P100k

were they, when they cultivate the emptiness meditative stabilization,409 to have cultivated it while thinking there is some other dharma “emptiness,” then an emptiness410 would be joining to an intrinsic nature of emptiness. Since that is the case, even a meditation on the emptiness aspect that is that totality of dharmas that cannot be apprehended is aspectless.

Hence it says they “neither cause emptiness to engage with emptiness.”

4.­293

In

“the yogic practice411 of emptiness as well,” P18k P100k

the yogic practice of emptiness is the emptiness meditation stabilization. This means they do not join the yogic practice of emptiness to another inherently existing yogic practice of emptiness.

4.­294

Similarly connect this with: because they do not entertain the idea of some other dharma,

“signlessness”; P18k P25k P100k

and because they do not entertain the idea there is some other dharma,

“wishlessness.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­295

Therefore, it says

“emptiness is neither a yogic practice nor not a yogic practice.” P18k

Because emptiness [F.76.b] is separated from the cognitive dimension412 of a yogic practice of any other imaginary phenomena such as form and so on, it is, therefore, not a yogic practice; and because it is in its nature inexpressible and the intrinsic nature of the signlessness meditative stabilization, it is, therefore, not not a yogic practice.

4.­296

As for

“they do not engage with nor disengage from form”413‍— P18k P25k P100k

they do not engage because they do not see in the true dharmic nature of form and so on their defining marks‍—being seeable and so on‍—because they are empty of their own defining marks. Therefore, it says they

“enter into414 the emptiness of the marks particular to dharmas.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­297

It says

“they do not join form with the prior limit,” P18k P25k P100k

and then states as the reason for that:

“because they do not even see the prior limit.” P18k P25k P100k

They do not see the three time periods such as the prior limit and so on, so how, given that they do not see them, could they be engaged with them?

4.­298

“They do not join the prior limit with the later limit”‍— P18k P25k P100k

when they practice by way of apprehending consequences415‍—that this is the sort of later maturation416 experienced on account of that earlier action‍—it is said that they

“join the prior limit with the later limit and… join the later limit with the prior limit.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­299

When they practice with the idea that this, the maturation of that earlier action, is in the present, it is said that they join the present with the prior limit, and join the prior limit with the present. When they practice with the idea that this action that has been done in the present will mature in the future, it is said that they join the present to the future, and join the future to the present.

4.­300

For those seeing the three periods of time as a sameness, there are no different times, because time cannot be apprehended in any form. Therefore, it says

“because of the sameness of the three periods of time.”417 P18k P25k P100k

It has said “they do not join form with the past,” and with “because they do not even see the past,” has stated the reason for that. [F.77.a] Joining, such as “this sort of form was in the past; this sort of form will be in the future; form is here in the present,” is joining form with the three periods of time.

4.­301

“[Bodhisattva great beings]… do not join form with the knowledge of all aspects”‍— P18k P25k P100k

when there is the idea that “this form is an object of the knowledge of all aspects,” that it is a real thing that can be apprehended, or thinking, “Giving this form, and so on, transformed into a basis of meritorious action becomes the result, the knowledge of all aspects,” when there is the idea that it is a real cause, it is said that it is joined with the knowledge of all aspects.

4.­302

“[They]… do not join a buddha with the knowledge of all aspects”:418 P18k P25k

“the knowledge of all aspects is the cause of a buddha,” and “awakening is by comprehending all dharmas with the knowledge of all aspects”‍—they “do not join” them like that because buddha, awakening, and the knowledge of all aspects have the same characteristic mark and in the form of the dharma body are not different. Therefore, it says

“a buddha is the knowledge of all aspects, and the knowledge of all aspects is the buddha as well,” P18k

and so on.

4.­303

Where it says,

“Form is not joined with ‘originating.’ Form is not joined with ‘perishing,’ ” P18k

the view of origination and the view of perishing are the view that it is permanent and the view that it is annihilated‍—they do not entertain those.

4.­304

“[Form] is not joined with ‘permanent,’ ” P18k P25k P100k

based on a view, nor

“with ‘impermanent,’ ” P18k P25k P100k

based on conceptualization. Construe the others419 like this as well.

4.­305

“Form is not joined with ‘calm,’ ” P18k P25k P100k

because imaginary form and so on do not have the mark of nirvāṇa.

4.­306

“Form is not joined with ‘not calm,’ ” P18k P25k P100k

because the true dharmic nature of form does not have the mark of saṃsāra.

4.­307

“The knowledge of all aspects does not join with ‘calm,’ ”420 P25k P100k

because such an idea is not applicable. Similarly, [F.77.b] the idea of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness does not apply either. Construe the alternatives of

“ ‘practicing,’ ” P18k P25k P100k

and so on like this as well.421

4.­308

“[Bodhisattva great beings]… do not practice the perfection of wisdom for the sake of the perfection of giving”‍— P18k P25k P100k

all dharmas, in their true dharmic nature, are not different, since it is not possible to grasp them as different. All, in the intrinsic nature of the perfection of wisdom, are not different either. Therefore, it says, they

“do not see a difference in any dharma.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­309

They

“do not even see the perfection of wisdom itself, not to mention a bodhisattva, so however could they apprehend fully all the clairvoyances?” P18k P25k P100k

It says that, because the clairvoyances are in their intrinsic nature imaginary phenomena and are imaginary phenomena apprehending things. Construe the connected sections on the objects of the clairvoyances and the attainment of benefits like that as well.

4.­310

A defining mark of the endeavor422 is the attainment of a benefit of it, so it teaches that with,

“Śāriputra, Māra the wicked one does not gain entry to a bodhisattva great being practicing the perfection of wisdom like this,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­311

“Any phenomenon united with” P18k P25k P100k

teaches saṃsāra, and

“separated” P18k P25k P100k

teaches nirvāṇa.

4.­312

“Come together with or not come together with them” P18k P25k P100k

teaches something other than those two.423

4.­313

“Because the dharma-constituent does not fully awaken by means of the dharma-constituent,” P18k P25k P100k

suchness does not cause suchness to fully awaken.

4.­314

They

“do not join form to emptiness”‍— P18k P25k P100k

they do not join form with its intrinsic nature, emptiness, and they do not join the name form to the name emptiness‍—

“and do not join emptiness to form”‍— P18k P25k P100k

they do not join emptiness with the intrinsic nature of form, and they do not join them thinking emptiness is the name of form.

4.­315

Alternatively, they “do not join form to emptiness” means they do not join them thinking, ‘form is empty’; [F.78.a] they do not break form and emptiness apart.

4.­316

“Śāriputra, you should bear in mind that bodhisattva great beings engaged like that have been prophesied”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because they have reached the eighth level they have been prophesied,

“or are close to being prophesied,” P18k

because they are worthy of a prophesy.

4.­317

Forbearance for dharmas that are not produced is attained at the eighth level, and the matured perfections emerge. With the emergence of the matured perfections, they practice the six perfections without having to exert themselves to bring beings to maturity, purify a buddhafield, and, having fully awakened, turn the wheel of the Dharma‍—they accomplish them all effortlessly. Thus it teaches that matured practice works effortlessly

“for the welfare of infinite, countless beings beyond measure, but still it will not occur to them to think, ‘The lord buddhas will make a prophesy about me. I am close to being prophesied,’ ” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. And it states the reason why they stand there effortlessly, with

“because they do not make the dharma-constituent into a causal sign.” P18k P25k

4.­318

From that point on424 they do not apply themselves to apprehending anything not included in the dharma-constituent. They do not even make that dharma-constituent itself into a causal sign and apprehend it.

4.­319

Then it teaches the benefits of the forbearance for dharmas that are not produced, with,

“Because the notion of a being does not occur to bodhisattva great beings… like that. And why? Because a being is absolutely not produced and does not cease, because the true dharmic nature of dharmas is not produced and does not cease.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­320

“Practices the perfection of wisdom as an unproduced and unceasing being” P18k P25k P100k

teaches that from that point on their practice does not apprehend a being. [F.78.b] Even though conventionally through the force of compassion a consciousness arises, which is to say at that time they complete giving and so on for the welfare of beings, nevertheless they still abide doing everything as beings who are “unproduced and unceasing,” who are

“emptiness… and cannot be apprehended,” P18k P25k P100k

and are

“in an isolated state.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­321

Then, in order to teach that their abiding is an extremely special one, it says so with,

“Śāriputra, this… is the bodhisattva great beings’ ultimate yogic practice,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­322

Then, even though beings cannot be apprehended, the classifications of the activities for the welfare of beings‍—love and compassion and so on, and giving and morality and so on‍—are taught with

“[they] accomplish… great love, great compassion,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. The six statements‍—

“they do not practice425 with a miserly thought,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on‍—teach the absence of the factors opposed to all six perfections.

Those who endeavor

4.­323

Then, in order to delight the retinue, and in order that the explanation of the doctrine will be bigger than in just that section, the elder [Śāriputra] asks,

“Where did they die… who have taken birth here?” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. Among them, those who are supreme arrive from a buddhafield and go to a buddhafield, the middling arrive from Tuṣita, and the least arrive from among humans. Thus, it teaches them as three types.

4.­324

Then,

“Śāriputra, there are… bodhisattva great beings without skillful means,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, teaches about the bodhisattvas included in forty-four types in order to teach that there are even more than those in that section.

4.­325

[Those with dull faculties.] Of the first two of those who do not have skillful means, the former without skillful means endeavor at the practice of the concentrations and the practice of the perfections but, without skillful means, take birth as long-lived gods, and for that amount of time [F.79.a] do not endeavor at the perfections. Later, when they take human birth through the power of their earlier practice of the perfections, they again endeavor but have dull faculties.

4.­326

Second are those who endeavor at the practice of the concentrations and the practice of the perfections, reject the results of the concentrations, and do not take birth as gods, but take human birth. Still, without skillful means they are those with dull faculties.

4.­327

All the ones after these have keen faculties:

First. It teaches the first of them with

“will fully awaken to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening right here in the Fortunate Eon.” P18k P25k P100k

Having trained in the practice of the concentrations and the bodhisattvas’ practice, the force of their compassion stops them being born through the influence of the concentrations. Focused on working for the welfare of beings, and focused on pleasing the buddhas, they fully awaken in just this Fortunate Eon itself.

4.­328

Second. Endowed with those good qualities they bring to maturity those beings they have not previously brought to maturity.

4.­329

Third. Endowed with those good qualities they take birth among the six classes of gods living in the desire realm. Abiding in a state endowed with complete strength, they work to bring beings to maturity, purify a buddhafield, and please the buddhas.

4.­330

Fourth. They take birth in the Brahmaloka, and because they have made a prayer that is a vow that with their miraculous powers they will pass on from buddhafield to buddhafield, listen to the doctrine, focus on pleasing the buddhas, and make requests, they request those who have recently become fully and perfectly awakened to turn the wheel of the Dharma.

4.­331

Fifth. They are like, for example, our Lord Maitreya.426

4.­332

Sixth. With the strength of their clairvoyances they pass on to all buddhafields and worship all the tathāgatas.

4.­333

Seventh. They remain with their [F.79.b] clairvoyances in operation and generate the desire to be in just purified buddhafields.

4.­334

Eighth. Through the force of their clairvoyances they take birth in buddhafields where the lifespan is infinite and, remaining there for as long as their lifespan endures, they endeavor to bring beings and the buddhadharmas to maturity.

4.­335

Ninth. Through the force of the clairvoyances they proclaim the qualities of the Three Jewels in deficient worlds where beings do not know the qualities of the Three Jewels because there are no words for Buddha, Dharma, or Saṅgha. By explaining the doctrine that has those three words they generate a delight in them, and through the force of that cause them to take birth in a buddhafield.

4.­336

Tenth. Having taken birth in a purified buddhafield, those who naturally have fewer afflictions reach the first level with little effort; acquire the four concentrations, the meditative stabilizations, and the formless absorptions; cultivate the dharmas on the side of awakening and the buddhadharmas; die in that purified buddhafield; pass on to unpurified world systems; and work for the welfare of beings.

4.­337

Eleventh. Endowed with just those previously mentioned bodhisattva qualities they take birth in a purified buddhafield, reach the first level, immediately enter into “the secure state”427 of a bodhisattva and reach the irreversible level.

4.­338

Twelfth. Endowed with just those qualities, because of the power generated by a buddhafield, their own personal good qualities purify their mindstream and they reach the first level with little effort. Right after that, without having to work hard, they become fully awakened and turn the wheel of the Dharma, causing the teaching to flourish for as long as they exist.

4.­339

Thirteenth. Endowed with just those qualities they take birth in a purified buddhafield, reach the first level with little effort, and having done so, without taking birth on the higher levels [F.80.a] become absorbed in all the yogic practices of the perfection of wisdom and in order to purify a buddhafield they take birth in buddhafield after buddhafield.

4.­340

Fourteenth. They dwell in the nonconceptual perfection of wisdom and, having become absorbed in the viṣkandaka428 absorption, keep dwelling on account of those absorptions.

4.­341

Fifteenth. Endowed with the dharmas on the side of awakening and endowed with the buddhadharmas, they thoroughly understand the results of stream enterer and so on with their knowledge of mastery, but, without actualizing them, establish others in those paths and results. Just that

“knowledge” P18k P25k P100k

of mastery

“is a bodhisattva [great being’s]” P18k P25k P100k

supreme

“forbearance.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­342

Sixteenth. They are bodhisattvas of the Fortunate Eon who, having become fully awakened in this very eon, dwell in the nonconceptual perfection of wisdom and purify the Tuṣita abode.

4.­343

Seventeenth. They are bodhisattvas obstructed by just a single birth who are endowed with all śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, and buddha dharmas, and with their knowledge of mastery remain searching for the noble truths.

4.­344

Eighteenth. They become fully awakened over the course of many hundred thousands of one hundred million incalculable eons and keep on endeavoring at working for the welfare of beings, like, for example, Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta.

4.­345

Nineteenth. Similarly, they have strived429 to fully awaken and remain explaining the doctrine to beings.

4.­346

Twentieth. Similarly, working for the welfare of beings they dwell in buddhafield after buddhafield.

4.­347

Twenty-first. They stand in the six perfections, and with their generosity they also satisfy beings and establish beings in generosity.

4.­348

Twenty-second. [F.80.b] With morality they gather beings together430 and establish them in morality.

4.­349

Twenty-third. They establish beings in patience.

4.­350

Twenty-fourth. They establish beings in perseverance.

4.­351

Twenty-fifth. They establish beings in concentration.

4.­352

Twenty-sixth. They establish beings in wisdom.

4.­353

Twenty-seventh. Disguised as buddhas they bring beings in the eastern direction to maturity, focus on pleasing the buddhas, apprehend the good qualities they see in that buddhafield, and, having purified their own buddhafield, reside there obstructed by just a single birth.

4.­354

Twenty-eighth. Similarly, they reside establishing the buddhafield in the south.

4.­355

Twenty-ninth are those in the west.

4.­356

Thirtieth are those in the north.

4.­357

Thirty-first are those in the intermediate direction to the northeast.

4.­358

Thirty-second are those in the intermediate direction to the southeast.

4.­359

Thirty-third are those in the intermediate direction to the southwest.

4.­360

Thirty-fourth are those in the intermediate direction to the northwest.

4.­361

Thirty-fifth are those in the direction below.

4.­362

Thirty-sixth are those in the direction above.

4.­363

Thirty-seventh. They bring beings in the ten directions to maturity, please the buddhas of the ten directions, apprehend the special qualities they see in those buddhafields, and, having perfected their own buddhafield, abide there obstructed by just a single birth.

4.­364

Thirty-eighth. They are endowed with all the buddhadharmas and, through the force of earlier prayers that are vows, disguised as a buddha make many beings feel joy in their great miraculous productions, calm bearing, and refined faculties. Just through the force of that joy and delight they bring beings to maturity, causing them finally to gradually enter into complete nirvāṇa by means of the three vehicles.

4.­365

Thirty-ninth. Endowed with those same refined faculties, similarly, they work for the welfare of beings but do not praise themselves [F.81.a] and disparage others, staying focused by abiding in equanimity.

4.­366

Fortieth. They stand on the Pramuditā level, stand in the perfections of giving and morality, do not experience the suffering of destitution or the suffering of terrible forms of life, and until they reach the irreversible stage stay focused on the welfare of others.

4.­367

Forty-first. Focusing on the perfections of giving and morality, in all their lives they become wheel-turning emperors, and, through the power of their miraculous productions, gather beings together and establish them in giving and morality.

4.­368

Forty-second. Focusing on the perfections of giving and morality, similarly, in all their lives they become wheel-turning emperors and, endowed with the great force of their miraculous productions, stand pleasing and worshiping the buddhas of the ten directions.

4.­369

Forty-third. They abide in the six perfections and bring beings to maturity with all

“the light of the buddhadharmas,” P18k P25k P100k

and with this same light of the buddhadharmas cause themselves personally to mature, remaining

“up until they… fully awaken.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­370

After having thus taught who the bodhisattvas are, it says,

“This, Śāriputra, is the origination of the bodhisattva great beings in the buddhadharmas.”431 P18k P25k P100k

The meaning is that this is the sequence in the growth of the buddhadharmas that are the shoots of bodhisattvas.

4.­371

Then, to begin the explanation, the Lord, taking those bodhisattvas as the measure, says,

“Therefore, Śāriputra, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom would provide no opportunity for basic immoral physical, verbal, and mental action.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­372

Taking his cue from that, to begin the explanation the elder [Śāriputra] himself then asks, [F.81.b]

“What, Lord, is a bodhisattva great being’s basic immoral physical action?” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­373

Then the Lord, talking about432 the perception that apprehends a body, a voice, and a thinking mind, teaches that if it occurs to a bodhisattva to think, “This is the body with which I should undertake physical action, this is the voice, this is the thinking mind with which I should undertake the action,” then there is a fault in their undertaking.

Just those are the physical, verbal, and mental bases of suffering.

4.­374

Having thus taught that it is this nonapprehending body, voice, and thinking mind itself that cleanses the bases of suffering, it then teaches that also bodhisattvas standing on the Pramuditā level, if, practicing the ten wholesome actions, stop śrāvaka thought and pratyekabuddha thought and constantly attend to a greatly compassionate thought for all beings, then in that case too they would have thoroughly cleansed the bases of suffering.

4.­375

Śāriputra asks,

“What, Lord, is the bodhisattva great beings’ awakening path?” P18k P25k P100k

because

“cleansing the awakening path”433 P18k P25k P100k

presented it as not different from the perfections.

4.­376

Then,

“Śāriputra, when bodhisattva great beings practice the awakening path,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, teaches that the awakening path is a yogic practice that does not apprehend anything. Then, in a subsection, it teaches the two parts of the awakening path: practice that does not apprehend anything and practice that does not falsely project anything. As for those two connected sections, the earlier practice is the cause of the later practice because, when they do not apprehend anything, they do not falsely project anything.

4.­377

The elder [Śāriputra], thinking that just a tathāgata has the knowledge of a knower of all aspects, and a bodhisattva does not, asks,

“What, Lord, is the bodhisattva great beings’ knowledge of a knower of all aspects?” P18k P25k P100k

4.­378

And the Lord, with

“in possession of that knowledge,” [F.82.a] P18k P25k P100k

and so on, says that the type of bodhisattva knowledge produced on the eighth level is a natural knowledge, which is to say, a matured knowledge. The matured knowledge brings all the perfections and so on to completion, but still the attention to making an effort at them is not there. It is therefore called the knowledge of a knower of all aspects, having labeled the cause with the name of the result, because that knowledge is the cause of the knowledge of all aspects.

4.­379

Then the

“flesh eye” P18k P25k P100k

is the knowledge that engages with all forms; the

“divine eye” P18k P25k P100k

knows all meditative stabilizations and absorptions; the

“wisdom eye” P18k P25k P100k

is knowledge of all-knowledge; the

“dharma eye” P18k P25k P100k

is all nine knowledges with the exception of the knowledge of what can and cannot be;434 and the

“buddha eye” P18k P25k P100k

is knowledge of the vajropama meditative stabilization. It teaches their division in that way.

4.­380

Then, in regard to abiding with the clairvoyances, for all the clairvoyances it gives an earlier explanation of abiding with the clairvoyances as conventional knowledge, and afterward, to teach that they are absolutely complete, it teaches that as ultimate knowledge they are nonconceptual. To teach that they are absolute purity, conventional knowledge, having made all the abiding of bodhisattvas complete, afterward ultimately does not apprehend them and on account of that becomes absolutely “perfected” and absolutely “purified.”

4.­381

Therefore at the end it says,435

“Śāriputra, practicing the perfection of wisdom like that the six clairvoyances of bodhisattva great beings are perfected and purified, and those purified clairvoyances cause them to gain the knowledge of all aspects.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­382

“They do not apprehend a false projection of miraculous power,”436 P18k P25k P100k

by a miraculous power.

4.­383

“What they might falsely project,” P18k P25k P100k

a procedure that is the activity of miraculous power,

“or what might be falsely projecting,” [F.82.b] P18k

knowledge of the activity of miraculous power‍—

“they do not apprehend” P18k P25k P100k

those miraculous powers.

4.­384

“Its intrinsic nature is empty” P18k P25k P100k

is the nonexistence of its intrinsic nature;

“its intrinsic nature is isolated” P18k P25k P100k

is absolute purity; and

“its intrinsic nature is not produced” P18k P25k P100k

is the intrinsic nature of a compounded phenomenon.

4.­385

“They do not intend miraculous power” P18k P25k P100k

is the intention that thinks, “That is miraculous power”;

“[they] intend to accomplish miraculous power” P18k P25k P100k

is the intention that thinks, “I am going to accomplish these miraculous powers.”

4.­386

“Therefore, Śāriputra, there are bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom who, standing in the perfection of giving, cleanse the path to the knowledge of all aspects based on not holding on to anything because of the emptiness that transcends limits.”437 P18k P25k P100k

4.­387

Whether they abide in all six of the nonconceptual perfections, or whether they abide in any one of the six perfections, they cleanse the awakening path.

4.­388

“Śāriputra, there are…,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, teaches their438 different inclinations.

4.­389

“Because of the emptiness that transcends limits”‍— P18k P25k P100k

the extreme of over-reification and the extreme of over-negation have stopped.

4.­390

“Based on not holding on to anything”‍— P18k P25k P100k

they do not settle down on the three spheres of giver, gift, and recipient and so on. Because of not holding on to anything, they therefore,

“standing in the perfection of giving, cleanse the path to” P18k P25k P100k

awakening.

4.­391

“Based on not having gone, not having come439‍— P18k P25k P100k

having in mind those who think, “We have been told, ‘They cleanse the awakening path,’ so, if there is a path there must be coming and going,” it negates them, saying

“based on not…” P18k P25k P100k

4.­392

The Śrāvaka Vehicle says, “All dharmas are produced, but still they do not come from anywhere; they stop, but still they do not go anywhere.” In the Great Vehicle it is said, “Because there is no production and stopping, [F.83.a] there is liberation from coming and going.”

4.­393

“And not having grasped anything”‍— P18k P25k P100k

settling down on dharmas as dharmas is holding on to something;

“giving is designated based on holding on to things”‍— P18k P25k P100k

miserliness is holding on to something.

4.­394

What is the intention where it says “giving is designated based on holding on to things” and so on?

In the world miserliness exists and the word giving appears, and given that there is immorality and so on, morality and so on come about as words. This is explaining that since the bodhisattvas have no intellectual awareness of miserliness on the opposing side and so on, therefore they have no intellectual awareness of giving and so on either.

4.­395

“They do not falsely project ‘they have gotten beyond that.’ They do not falsely project ‘they have not gotten beyond that.’ ” P18k P25k P100k

They do not think they “have gotten beyond” or “have not gotten beyond” miserliness and so on, because neither of those exist.

4.­396

“They do not falsely project ‘giving and miserliness’ ” P18k P25k P100k

teaches just that, which is to say, they do not think there is either an opposing side or a counteracting side.

4.­397

“They do not falsely project ‘I have been snubbed.’ They do not falsely project ‘I have been saluted,’ ” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, teach that they do not falsely project the eight worldly dharmas.440

4.­398

“Śāriputra, a nonproduction…” P18k P100k

means the very limit of reality.

4.­399

“In regard to all beings, that they are the same” P18k P25k P100k

is immeasurable equanimity because of the emptiness of persons;

“that all phenomena are the same” P18k P25k P100k

is the equanimity that is an abiding in the middle way because of the emptiness of dharmas, which is to say, it is “the equanimity free from attachment and hatred.”

4.­400

After that, the prophesy of those in the retinue who have been brought to maturity, the praise of the perfection of wisdom, the praise of bodhisattvas who have set out in the perfection of wisdom, the diffusion of the light, the assembly of the bodhisattvas, [F.83.b] the array of the offerings, the retinue that has reached the eighth level, the prayer that is a vow, and the prophesy are all topics that are obvious, as found in the Sūtra.441

This is how to explain the brief teaching of the first statement.

4.­401

In respect to the exposition in eight parts of

“Here, Śāriputra, bodhisattva great beings who want to fully awaken to all dharmas in all forms should make an effort at the perfection of wisdom,” P18k P25k

the Lord and the elder Śāriputra have expounded in detail

why bodhisattvas endeavor,

how bodhisattvas endeavor,

the defining marks of those who endeavor, and

those who endeavor.

Instructions for the endeavor

4.­402

Now, of the four parts,

instructions for the endeavor,

the benefits of the endeavor,

and so on442 that now have to be explained, the elder Subhūti teaches the instructions for the endeavor. But it is actually the Lord teaching in that way, with skillful means to bring trainees to maturity, so it will say below,443

“Śāriputra, it is just the Tathāgata who, by skillful means, will expound the perfection of wisdom to the bodhisattva great beings.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­403

In regard to,

“Will venerable Subhūti instruct… on account of armor in which reposes the power of his own intellect and ready speech?” P18k P25k P100k

śrāvakas know the objects of śrāvakas, so why would śrāvakas have such uncertainty [about his being such a great bodhisattva]?

4.­404

There is nothing wrong with that, because the elder Subhūti is a bodhisattva great being who for immeasurable eons has accumulated stores of merit and wisdom, and is famous for having gained forbearance for the deep dharmas, so all have become uncertain like that. Therefore, to eliminate the fault which might occur were Subhūti to teach in his own words, which is that they might not be accepted, he emphasizes444 that they are the words of the Lord, not his own words. [F.84.a]

4.­405

“Whatever the Lord’s śrāvakas say, teach, and expound”‍— P18k P25k P100k

it indicates those three because, on account of the three types to be disciplined, there is a division into brief, intermediate, and detailed teaching; alternatively, it is because of the threefold surpassing aspiration for themselves, and the temporary, and contextually appropriate, surpassing aspiration for others.445

4.­406

Now, in order to give an exposition of what is taught in the first statement, “bodhisattva great beings… should make an effort at the perfection of wisdom,” taking that as the point of departure, to set the scene,

The Lord… said…, “Subhūti, starting with the perfection of wisdom, be confident in your readiness to give a Dharma discourse to the bodhisattva great beings about how bodhisattva great beings go forth in the perfection of wisdom.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­407

The elder Subhūti, to himself set the scene for four instructions‍—

instructions for making an effort by using names and conventional terms conventionally,446

instructions for making an effort without apprehending beings,

instructions for making an effort by not apprehending words for things, and

instructions for making an effort when all dharmas cannot be apprehended‍—

asks,447

“Lord, … [w]hat phenomenon is this, the word bodhisattva great being, for?” P18k P25k P100k

4.­408

There in the brief teaching, the Lord said “bodhisattva great beings,” but the phenomenon bodhisattva does not exist at all. And he also said “perfection of wisdom,” but the phenomenon perfection of wisdom does not exist at all. So, given that those two phenomena cannot be apprehended, Subhūti asks whom he should be instructing and advising about what.

4.­409

Do not say that, the Lord says to Subhūti. If you therefore think there is nothing to say because a bodhisattva does not exist and even the perfection of wisdom does not exist, you deprive beings of what they need. It is therefore said, “Even though [F.84.b] those two dharmas448 do not ultimately exist in their thoroughly established nature, you should take hold of their imaginary marks with skillful means in order to bring beings to maturity and so on, and give advice to beings in the perfection of wisdom in the conventional way. Otherwise, you will deprive beings of what they need.”

4.­410

First, the teaching instruction about designation449 is the passage that teaches up to,450

“Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom should thus understand names and conventional terms.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­411

Having thus given instructions in designation, ultimately what is designated has to be taught, so the Lord, asking a question, uses the elder [Subhūti’s] words,451

“Lord, you say… ‘bodhisattva great being,’” P18k P25k P100k

as his point of departure, framing a series of five questions with,

4.­412

“What do you think, Subhūti, is the bodhisattva form, or is the bodhisattva other than form?” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.452 Then the elder Subhūti’s words,453

4.­413

“Lord, when a bodhisattva great being absolutely does not exist and cannot be apprehended, how could that form be a bodhisattva?” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, teaches the instructions without apprehending beings. It is taught in the passage that goes up to,454

“Bodhisattvas, Subhūti, should train in the perfection of wisdom like that, without apprehending a being.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­414

Then the Lord, again taking the words of the question,455

“What phenomenon is this, the word bodhisattva, for?” P18k P25k P100k

as his point of departure, asks,

“Subhūti… what do you think, is bodhisattva the word for form?” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, and with,456

“Lord, when a form absolutely does not exist [F.85.a] and cannot be apprehended, how could bodhisattva be the word for form?” P18k P25k

and so on, teaches not apprehending a word for the elder Subhūti’s word.457 Having done so, the passage from,458

4.­415

“Subhūti! … when bodhisattva great beings are practicing the perfection of wisdom like that they should train in the perfection of wisdom without apprehending a word for form,” P18k P25k P100k

up to459

“should train in the perfection of wisdom without apprehending a word for wishlessness,” P18k P25k P100k

teaches the instruction in the perfection of wisdom.

4.­416

Then the Lord, again having taken the words of the inquiry,460

“I do not see that‍—namely, the phenomenon with the name bodhisattva,” P18k P25k P100k

as his point of departure, in the passages from,

“The Lord, Subhūti, does not see the dharma-constituent,”461 P18k P25k

and so on, up to the end,462

“Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings should practice the perfection of wisdom like that, without apprehending all dharmas,” P18k P25k P100k

teaches not apprehending all dharmas. Just that is the instruction.

4.­417

“That is the advice about the perfection of wisdom of bodhisattvas, just that is the instruction” P18k P25k P100k

brings the four instructions to a conclusion.

Instructions for making an effort by using names and conventional terms conventionally

4.­418

Among these, for the instructions for using names and conventional terms conventionally spoken about first, having taught that a “name” in the form of some other phenomenon does not exist with

“those… are just words,” P18k P25k P100k

with those words

“do not exist inside, do not exist outside, and they cannot be apprehended where both do not exist” P18k P25k P100k

it explains the reason why a name in the form of some other phenomenon does not exist. Were some name in the form of some other phenomenon to exist, you would apprehend it as one from among the three‍—inner, or outer, or as other than those two. But, because when you investigate all three are untenable it therefore does not exist. Here, furthermore, [F.85.b]

“Subhūti, it is like this: the word being is uttered again and again, but you cannot apprehend any being,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, teaches by analogy.

4.­419

Then it gives a second reason why a name in the form of some other phenomenon does not exist, with

“and except for being used conventionally as a mere word and conventional term, any phenomenon that is a designation is not produced and does not stop,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. Were the names of phenomena to exist in the form of some other phenomena, when the phenomena when names are spoken arise, they too would arise, but they do not arise. Thus, because they are suitable to work as conventional labels, through their operation as conventional terms they are later463 stated to others with, “This is its name.”

4.­420

Were a name produced when the phenomenon itself is produced, others would then, right when they see it, even without knowing the conventional term, understand that “this is its name.” But they do not have that understanding, so, even though the phenomenon is produced the name is not produced, and even though the phenomenon stops the name does not stop. Even though something that is a name for something might cease, its working as a conventional label does not. Therefore, this teaches that it does not exist in the form of some other phenomenon because its production and stopping do not exist, but like a “self” and a “being” it is there simply as a convention.

4.­421

Here, furthermore, by way of illustration, it starts with four types of things:

“self, being,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, known from the śrāvaka system because they exist simply as a convention; the aggregates, constituents, and sense fields, known from the system of the bodhisattvas because they exist simply as imaginary phenomena; the

“body” P18k P25k P100k

and

“grass,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, that are particular inner and outer objects known from both because they exist simply as the names designated based on something; and a

“dream, echo, mirage,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, known in all worlds are because they are totally nonexistent.

4.­422

After that, to bring the instruction in name designation to a conclusion, it says,464

“Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings are practicing the perfection of wisdom [F.86.a] they should train in names and conventional terms that make things known, in advice that makes things known, and in dharmas that make things known.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­423

This speaks first about designation that is a name and conventional term, in order to avoid the extremes of over-reification and over-negation. It speaks about designation that is advice while remaining in that state,465 because they explain the doctrine in order to bring beings to maturity. Then, since they both466 designate the dharmas as conventional terms, it says they are imaginary dharmas.

4.­424

Then, to teach the benefit of those three designations, it again says,

“Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings thus practicing the perfection of wisdom do not view ‘form is permanent,’ ” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. This is explaining that the result of training in things being simply just designated is the elimination of all conceptualizations.467

[B8]

4.­425

Those conceptualizations of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, furthermore, are threefold:

those falling within the province of insight,

those falling within the province of the three gateways to liberation, and

those falling within the province of the perfect analytic understanding of the reality of dharmas.

4.­426

Among these, those falling within the province of insight are the conceptualizations summarizing the doctrine that serve as the foundation for the four noble truths based on the bright side and the dark side that are accepted and rejected: the conceptualizations of impermanence, suffering, selflessness, and calm, and the conceptualizations of permanence, pleasure, self, and not calm that are the side opposing those.

4.­427

Those falling within the province of the three gateways to liberation are the conceptualizations of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness, and the conceptualizations of not being empty, having a sign, and being wished for that have to be eliminated.

4.­428

All the rest fall within the province of the perfect analytic understanding of the reality of dharmas. These are the ten conceptualizations of the compounded, the arising, the not isolated, the unwholesome, being with basic immorality, being with outflows, the afflicted, the ordinary, defilement, and saṃsāra, and, serving as the side counteracting them, the ten conceptualizations of the uncompounded, the stopping, the isolated, the wholesome, being without basic immorality, [F.86.b] being without outflows, the unafflicted, the extraordinary, purification, and nirvāṇa. All of them, furthermore, fall within the province of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas because bodhisattvas have to eliminate them all totally. It teaches the elimination of those thirty-four conceptualizations as the benefit of training in phenomena just being simply designations.

4.­429

“They do not view… as existing in the compounded element or as existing in the uncompounded element.”468 P25k P100k

This is saying that the perfection of wisdom and so on are not counted as being a compounded phenomenon or an uncompounded phenomenon.

4.­430

To teach that in true reality they do not mentally construct an expression of a bright and dark side as two, it says469

“do not mentally construct… any of those dharmas.” P18k P25k P100k

They do not, like the tīrthikas and so on,

“conceptualize,” P18k P25k P100k

in particular, that something is permanent, is a pleasure, or has a self and so on, and they do not, like the śrāvakas and so on, with their insight and so on,

“mentally construct,” P18k P25k P100k

in particular, that something is impermanent, suffering, and selfless and so on.

4.­431

Thus, to teach that the training of bodhisattvas is in a form that counteracts all such mental construction and conceptualization, it says,470

“Standing without mentally constructing any dharma they cultivate the applications of mindfulness,” P18k P25k P100k

up to the end,

“the distinct attributes of a buddha.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­432

In order to teach the actually real state of dharmas that serves as the object when there is no conceptualization,471 in a form that counteracts the object of śrāvakas, it says,

“[Bodhisattva great beings] practicing the perfection of wisdom [F.87.a] excellently realize the defining marks of the dharmas. And that defining mark of a dharma, of the dharmas, is not defiled and is not purified.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­433

This teaches that suchness is naturally pure, so, during the period when there are stains it is not defiled. During the period when there are no stains, there is no purification of what has been plucked out of thin air. Therefore, because it remains always in such a state it is called tathatā.472

4.­434

Therefore, it is saying about those in the above explanation that they are all imaginary phenomena, they are not actually real, are not the truth.

“Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings are thus practicing the perfection of wisdom they should understand the conventional usage of dharmas that are names and conventional terms.”473 P25k P100k

4.­435

When just those mentally constructed dharmas are taught, its result is not settling down on all dharmas, so,

“having understood that they are [just] names and conventional terms that are dharma designations, they do not settle down on form,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, teaches the second benefit. It means having thus become aware that all dharmas are simply just designations they do not settle on any imaginary phenomenon‍—form and so on, up to, at the end,

“the skillful means” P18k P25k P100k

for the sake of the purification of the buddhadharmas.

4.­436

“They do not settle down on suchness. They do not settle down on the very limit of reality. They do not settle down on the dharma-constituent.” P18k P25k P100k

In the order spoken about before,474 what falls within the province of the knowledge of the aspects of the paths incorporated in the levels of bodhisattvas is called suchness; the nirvāṇa that falls within the province of the all-knowledge of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas is the very limit of reality; and the dharma body included in the Buddha level that falls within the province of the knowledge of all aspects of the buddhas is the dharma-constituent.[F.87.b]

4.­437

After that the benefit of cultivating not settling is again taught in the passage from,475

“Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings thus practicing the perfection of wisdom who do not settle down on all dharmas grow in the perfection of giving,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, up to the end:

“They will obtain the dhāraṇī gateways. They will obtain the meditative stabilization gateways.” P18k P25k P100k

Instructions for making an effort without apprehending beings

4.­438

Having thus completed the instruction for designations that are conventional terms, there has to be an explanation of the second, the instruction without apprehending beings. So first, from the elder Subhūti asking,476

“Lord, you say… ‘bodhisattva great being,’ ” P25k P100k

there arises, on account of that inquiry, the thought that “something called a bodhisattva exists,” so, in order to remove the doubt of someone who thinks, “Subhūti said that,” the Lord poses a fivefold question:

4.­439

“What do you think, Subhūti, is the bodhisattva form, or is the bodhisattva other than form, or is the bodhisattva in form, or is form in the bodhisattva, or is the bodhisattva without form?” P18k P25k P100k

4.­440

Seizing on a bodhisattva as a being and mentally constructing it as different, like a soul and so on, the possibilities are threefold: controller of itself and the other; a residence and resident; something other than those. Thus, when a bodhisattva is settled down on as a being it can be supposed to be just the entity that is the five aggregates as the nihilists have falsely imagined477 the self to be; or it can be a self that is something quite other, not included in the five aggregates, as the eternalists have falsely imagined the self to be.

4.­441

There, taking the position that they are the same as its point of departure, it says,

“Is the bodhisattva form… [F.88.a] or is the bodhisattva feeling… or is the bodhisattva perception…?” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­442

Second, taking the position that they are different as its point of departure, it says,

“Is the bodhisattva something other that is not form, … is the bodhisattva something other that is not feeling…?” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­443

Furthermore, having taken the second possibility of a residence and resident as its point of departure, it says,

“Or is the bodhisattva in form, or is form in the bodhisattva… or is the bodhisattva in feeling, or is feeling in the bodhisattva…?” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. The idea is that form and feeling and so on, and a bodhisattva, are totally unconnected, because a bodhisattva is totally other than them.

4.­444

Having taken the third possibility as its point of departure, it says,

“Or is the bodhisattva without form… or is the bodhisattva without feeling…?” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­445

Thus, when an analysis of this bodhisattva has been made, the bodhisattva does not withstand analysis as being the same or different, or a residence or resident, or as something that is the nonexistence of those. Therefore, intending that the bodhisattva478 does not exist, it says,

“None of those, Lord.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­446

Among those who assert a soul, there are some for whom “a discriminating seeing has everything as its object,” who mentally construct a being that is in the nature of an eye sense faculty and so on. Thinking what is called a being has form as its intrinsic nature, they think the soul is

“one who sees.”479 P18k P25k P100k

Therefore, it says,

“What do you think… is the bodhisattva form?” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­447

Similarly, those like cowherds and so on who mentally construct an enjoyer as a being, [F.88.b] and, having taken it as having feeling for its intrinsic nature, think the soul is

“one who feels.” P18k P25k P100k

Therefore, it says,

“What do you think… is the bodhisattva feeling?” P18k P25k P100k

4.­448

Similarly, those like Jains and so on mentally construct a doer as a being, and, having taken it as having perception and volitional factors for its intrinsic nature, think the soul is

“one who does.” P18k P25k P100k

Therefore, it says,

“What do you think… is the bodhisattva perception… is the bodhisattva volitional factors?” P18k P25k P100k

4.­449

Similarly, those like the Vaidikas and so on mentally construct one who knows as a being, and, having taken it as having consciousness for its intrinsic nature, think the soul is

“one who knows.” P18k P25k P100k

Therefore, it says,

“What do you think… is the bodhisattva consciousness?” P18k P25k P100k

4.­450

Similarly, those like the Sāṃkhyas mentally construct it as an extremely subtle

individual that is pervasive but not evident, thinking that there is a soul that has a nature different from form and so on. Therefore, it says,

“What do you think… is the bodhisattva other than form? What do you think… is the bodhisattva other than feeling?” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­451

Similarly, those like the Parivrājakas and so on mentally construct it as the size of a thumb or the size of a grain of barley and so on. They mentally construct the idea that this individual resides in a body constituted out of aggregates. Therefore, it says,

“What do you think… is the bodhisattva in form? What do you think… is the bodhisattva in feeling?” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­452

Similarly, those like the Ulūkas480 and so on, who assert that impermanent form and so on are resident in the permanent person, think that form and so on reside in the soul, mentally constructing something in the residence. Therefore, it says,

“What do you think… is form in the bodhisattva? Is feeling in the bodhisattva?” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­453

Similarly, like certain of those who assert Īśvara and so on, they mentally construct an extremely subtle, very hard to understand “Īśvara” as existing, and mentally construct the idea [F.89.a] that it is different from the intrinsic nature of form and so on. Therefore, it says,

“What do you think… is the bodhisattva without form? What do you think… is the bodhisattva without feeling?” P18k P25k P100k

4.­454

Intending that all those possibilities fly in the face of reason, the question is posed separately taking the five aggregates, six elements, twelve sense fields, and twelve links of dependent origination as the point of departure, and the elder Subhūti replies in the negative to each, with,481

“None of those, Lord.” P18k P100k

4.­455

Then if a dharma that is different exists and if this bodhisattva supposes it has to be a compounded phenomenon or an uncompounded phenomenon, if it is a compounded phenomenon it will be apprehended in these aggregates and so on, but it is not apprehended; and even if it is asserted that it is an uncompounded phenomenon, to eliminate that doubt, taking the suchness of the aggregates and so on as his point of departure, the Lord asks,482

“What do you think, Subhūti, is the bodhisattva the suchness of form?” P18k P25k P100k

4.­456

Then, were the different and combined suchnesses of aggregates, constituents, sense fields, and dependent origination, having been collected, together to exist in a bodhisattva, just a single bodhisattva would have an unbounded, infinite number of intrinsic natures. Something like that makes no sense, so the elder Subhūti negates those as well, with,

“None of those, Lord.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­457

The Lord then asked483 P18k P25k

again the reason why, with

“Subhūti, for what reason do you say…?” P18k P25k P100k

and it says the reason why, with,

“Lord… when a bodhisattva absolutely does not exist and cannot be apprehended, how could that form be a bodhisattva?” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. This means that just like conceiving of a rabbit’s horns or the child of a barren woman as tall or short, or snow white [F.89.b] or jet black, given that a being absolutely does not exist, form and so on that is a compounded phenomenon in its intrinsic nature, or suchness that is an uncompounded phenomenon in its intrinsic nature, does not exist.

4.­458

“How could the suchness of form be apprehended in it?”484 P18k P25k P100k

means how could it have the suchness of form as its intrinsic nature.

4.­459

Having thus negated all intrinsic natures, to bring the instructions without apprehending a being to a conclusion it says,

“Excellent, excellent, Subhūti!” said the Lord. “Bodhisattvas, Subhūti, should train in the perfection of wisdom like that, without apprehending a being.” P18k P25k P100k

Instructions for making an effort by not apprehending words for things

4.­460

Then, in the context of the noble elder Subhūti first asking about a “word for something,” with,485

“What phenomenon is this, the word bodhisattva, for?” P18k P25k P100k

where the Lord has also taught as though a bodhisattva existed, some think that even if, ultimately, bodhisattvas are taken to lack an intrinsic nature of the aggregates and so on, still, they do exist from a conventional perspective as having what has been labeled onto the aggregates and so on as their intrinsic nature. Therefore, to teach that even that designation does not exist, after that, taking the words of the question as his point of departure to teach the instructions by not apprehending words for things, the Lord asks,

“What do you think, Subhūti, is bodhisattva the word for form? Or do you think bodhisattva is the word for feeling?” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. Were a word for something to be the bodhisattvas’ intrinsic nature then the words for the five‍—form and so on‍—and the fourteen‍—permanent and impermanent and so on‍—would become their intrinsic nature. Therefore it asks, having taken the word for each of them separately, “Do you think bodhisattva is the word for form? Do you think bodhisattva is the word for feeling?” [F.90.a]

4.­461

Then, given that form and so on are absolutely nonexistent because they are imaginary phenomena, how could words for them be apprehended? If words for things are not apprehended, how could there be a bodhisattva? Thus, the elder Subhūti teaches that words for things do not exist, and bodhisattvas do not exist with the words for them as their intrinsic nature.

4.­462

Then, based on the fact that they do not apprehend words for things,486

“Excellent, excellent, Subhūti!” said the Lord. “Bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom like that, Subhūti, should train in the perfection of wisdom without apprehending a word for form,” P18k P25k P100k

up to

without apprehending the words for… consciousness is… a pleasurable state, a suffering state, self, selflessness, calmness, noncalmness, emptiness, nonemptiness, the state of having a sign, signlessness, the state of being wished for, or wishlessness,” P18k P25k P100k

is the instruction by words for things.

Instructions for making an effort when all dharmas cannot be apprehended

4.­463

Having thus taught that a “bodhisattva” does not ultimately, or even conventionally, exist, then, in order to teach the instructions when all dharmas cannot be apprehended, that not only does a bodhisattva not exist, but all dharmas do not exist either, the Lord sets the scene by taking the words of the elder Subhūti’s earlier question:487

4.­464

“Again, Subhūti, you say…” P18k P25k P100k

Earlier,488 the elder Subhūti, with,

“I do not see that‍—namely, the phenomenon bodhisattva,” P18k P25k P100k

has said he does not see a phenomenon called “bodhisattva,” teaching that nobody, ultimately, sees anything at all.

4.­465

Then, the Lord again, in order to teach that ultimately, during the non-thoroughly established period when nobody sees anything at all and nothing else sees that489 either, says,

“Subhūti, the dharma does not see the dharma-constituent; [F.90.b] the dharma-constituent does not see the dharma,” P18k P25k

and so on. The idea is that a falsely imagined dharma does not see a thoroughly established dharma-constituent, and a thoroughly established dharma-constituent does not see a falsely imagined dharma either. To teach just that it says,

“Subhūti, the form constituent does not see the dharma-constituent,” P18k P25k

and so on.

4.­466

Then, when they are different,490 as the reason for that, it also says,

“And why? You cannot make the uncompounded known without the compounded, and you cannot make the compounded known without the uncompounded.”491 P18k P25k P100k

4.­467

If compounded dharmas and uncompounded dharmas were to be different, in that case one might be seen by the other, but there are no separate “uncompounded phenomena” at all for compounded phenomena. So, it is just suchness itself called “a compounded phenomenon” during the impure period, and just that itself called “an uncompounded phenomenon” during the purified period. This is just like previously murky water that has later become clear‍—it is just that water itself‍—and like the sky earlier spotted with clouds and so on that has later become spotless‍—it is just that sky itself. Similarly, with previously impure suchness‍—when it has become totally purified it is still just that suchness, so compounded dharmas and uncompounded dharmas do not have different intrinsic natures. Therefore, just as a self does not itself see itself, so too a falsely imagined dharma does not see a thoroughly established dharma-constituent, and a thoroughly established dharma-constituent does not see a falsely imagined dharma either. That is what it means.

4.­468

To teach the benefit of this practice when all dharmas cannot be apprehended it says,492

“Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom like that [F.91.a] do not see any dharma at all, but they do not tremble, feel frightened, or become terrified at not seeing; their minds are not cowed by any dharma, do not tense up, and do not experience regret.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­469

The result of this practice when all dharmas cannot be apprehended is also an increase in faith and an increase in wisdom. With an increase in faith “they do not tremble” and so on; with an increase in wisdom their minds do not sink down and become disenchanted. That faith, furthermore, is especially for three objects: it is felt for the explanations of the deep doctrine, the achievement of what is extremely difficult to do, and the totally amazing, marvelous buddhadharmas. This means that when faith in those three objects increases, the trembling and so on that arise from an absence of faith do not occur, and the cowed mind that arises from the absence of knowledge of just those three profound objects does not occur.

4.­470

There they are said to “tremble” when it is slight, when it first happens; said to “feel frightened” when it is middling; and said to “become terrified” when it is huge. Connect the feeling of disenchantment with the three time periods like that as well.

4.­471

Then, they

“do not see form” P18k P25k P100k

and so on is a detailed teaching of just that‍—of dharmas that cannot be apprehended. It teaches all the dharmas: the aggregates, constituents, sense fields, links of dependent origination,

“greed, hatred, and confusion;” P18k P25k P100k

the thirteen493‍—

“a self, a being, and a living being,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on;

“the desire realm, form realm, and formless realm;” P18k P25k P100k

and

“śrāvakas and śrāvakadharmas… pratyekabuddhas and pratyekabuddhadharmas… bodhisattvas and bodhisattva dharmas [F.91.b]… buddhas and buddhadharmas… and awakening.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­472

The aggregates, constituents, sense fields, and links of dependent origination incorporate all inner and outer dharmas; “greed, hatred, and confusion” incorporate all on the side of defilement and the basis of suffering; “a self, a being,” and so on incorporate the totally nonexistent designation dharmas; the three realms incorporate all the dharmas in the cycles of existence; and “śrāvakas” and so on incorporate all bright purification dharmas.

4.­473

“Mind and mental factor dharmas” P18k P25k P100k

incorporate the six engaging consciousnesses494 and the foundation consciousness, and what are associated with them, and

“thinking mind and thinking mind dharmas” P18k P25k P100k

teach the afflicted thinking mind495 and what is associated with it.

Benefits of the endeavor

4.­474

Having thus completed the fifth,496 the instructions for the endeavor, to teach the sixth, the benefits of the endeavor, it gives an exposition in a long passage of the text, from,497

“Lord, bodhisattva great beings who want to comprehend form should train in the perfection of wisdom,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, up to

“because in this perfection of wisdom there is detailed instruction for the three vehicles in which bodhisattva great beings should train on the level of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas, and buddhas.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­475

Again, here there are four benefits:

comprehension of the dharmas that have to be comprehended;

elimination of those that have to be eliminated;

perfecting in meditation those that have to be perfected; and

direct witness by reaching those that have to be directly witnessed.

4.­476

Among these,498

“Lord, bodhisattva great beings who want [F.92.a] to comprehend form,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, teaches the benefit of comprehension, because this passage teaches that they should comprehend the aggregates, constituents, sense fields, and the links of dependent origination.

4.­477

“Who want to eliminate greed, hatred, and confusion” P18k P25k P100k

teaches the benefit of elimination because this passage teaches that they should eliminate greed, hatred, and confusion, views, and the ten unwholesome actions. The benefit of perfecting is the passage teaching that they

“complete the ten wholesome actions… the perfections,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, up to

“the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­478

And the benefit of directly witnessing is the passage teaching that they

“obtain the dhāraṇi gateways and meditative stabilizations.”499 P18k P25k P100k

4.­479

Then it teaches two more benefits:500 it teaches the benefit that they

“fulfill all the intentions of beings” P18k P25k P100k

and that they

“complete all the wholesome roots.” P18k P25k P100k

These two are also just those characteristic of the perfecting spoken about earlier.501 They are taught last because they set the scene for the big flaw.

4.­480

“The big flaw”502‍— P18k P25k P100k

this is called “the big flaw” because it is the head or main fault, or because it is the flaw during the peaked503 period characterized by special insight.

4.­481

“A conforming love for dharmas”504‍— P18k P25k P100k

this is “conforming” because it is in the form of the cause that eliminates error. It is “love for dharmas” because it is together with the mental construction of them as dharmas.505

4.­482

“Form a persistent negative attachment to the notion”‍— P18k P25k P100k

wrong view together with mental construction is “negative attachment” when it is big; the mind is “persistent” when it is middling; and discrimination causes “the notion” when it is small. These three dharmas are in conformity with error: with erroneous discrimination, erroneous mind, and erroneous view. [F.92.b] It also teaches that there is love for two sorts of dharma: the true dharmic nature of the perfect view of reality, and the true dharmic nature of practice.

4.­483

The locution

“flawlessness” P18k P25k P100k

connotes an absence, because the thing that is the flaw does not exist, hence “flawlessness.”506

4.­484

“Do not see in inner emptiness outer emptiness”‍— P18k P25k P100k

inner emptiness is empty of the intrinsic nature of inner emptiness; it has not been made empty of the other emptinesses, outer emptiness and so on. So this means that an outer emptiness is not to be sought for in inner emptiness in order to make it empty.

4.­485

Similarly,

“And… in outer emptiness inner emptiness”‍— P18k P25k P100k

this means it is not sought for in order to make it empty, because it is an emptiness of its own intrinsic nature.

4.­486

“Train so that they know form but do not falsely project anything because of it”507‍— P18k P25k P100k

this means that they know that all dharmas are empty of their own intrinsic natures and are merely just names, and with the knowledge that they are merely just names they do not falsely project anything. It explains like that up to

“the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha,” P18k P25k P100k

and then teaches the thought of awakening together with its good qualities, with bodhisattvas

“do not falsely project anything even because of the thought of awakening.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­487

“Because that thought is no thought”‍— P18k P25k P100k

take the word “thought” as imaginary thought. It says it “is no thought” because the thoroughly established‍—the unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening thought in the form of the dharma body‍—transcends everything marked by mental construction and conceptualization, and hence does not have the mark of a thought. Therefore, it says

“the basic nature of thought is clear light,” P18k P25k P100k

that is, the nature of the thought that is the dharma body is clear light. So, it “is no thought” means that it is no imaginary thought.

4.­488

“A thought that is not conjoined with greed nor disjoined from greed” P18k P25k P100k

teaches just the basic nature, clear light. Even during the earlier period when greed and hatred [F.93.a] and so on arise in an ordinary person, like space, because it is not sullied by any stains, it is “not conjoined.”508 Later, even when a buddha, because that thought is separated from the afflictive emotions plucked out of thin air and abides in its natural purity, those stains have absolutely not arisen, and so, like space that is not conjoined with clouds and so on, it is clear light and hence “not disjoined” either. This is saying that it is not the case that it was conjoined earlier and later became disjoined, because, since it is naturally pure even during the earlier period when it is together with stains, it is not conjoined with them, and therefore later as well it is not disjoined from them either.

4.­489

“Venerable Subhūti, the thought of which you say ‘it is no thought,’ does that thought exist?”509 P18k P25k P100k

What does he have in mind? He inquires thinking like this: When the elder Subhūti said “because that thought is no thought,” even then he gave expression to the word “thought,” so that thought would come to exist with the mark of thought.510

4.­490

Then the elder Subhūti, having in mind, “I am not saying the mark of thought or the mark of no thought exists. It is not right to say, when talking about an absolute purity established as being inexpressible in its nature as being different, that it is something different, so I am saying ‘thought’ and ‘no thought’ through the force of prior usage,” inquires of him,

“Venerable Śāriputra, can you apprehend existence or nonexistence there, in that state of no thought?” P18k P25k P100k

4.­491

He intends to say that when it is no thought you cannot say it either exists or does not exist, because that would be resorting to two extremes. Therefore it says,

“No, Venerable Subhūti.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­492

Then the elder Subhūti, because it is not suitable to express it at that time in either way because of the danger posed by the two extremes, [F.93.b] again asks why he asks that:

“Is then… this argumentative investigation of yours… appropriate?”511 P18k P25k P100k

4.­493

After he has said that, Śāriputra, thinking that if he is saying it neither exists nor does not exist then even the mark of no thought does not exist, so why does he say it is no thought, counters,

“Venerable Subhūti, what is the state of no thought?” P18k P25k P100k

4.­494

Then the elder Subhūti thinks: I am not saying to him “no thought,” having in mind a mark of no thought in some other form. It has to be called “thought” during the earlier period when it is together with stains, because it has distortion and conceptualization, and, because something like that does not exist‍— “no thought” having asserted the mere nonexistence of the thing called “thought.” In order to teach that, he says,

“Venerable Śāriputra, the state of no thought is a state without distortion and without conceptualization,” P18k P25k P100k

by which he means that the nonexistence of something that has distortion and conceptualization‍—like thought during the earlier period‍—is “no thought.”

4.­495

When he says that, the elder Śāriputra, wondering if during that period it is only thought that is without distortion and without conceptualization, or whether all dharmas are without distortion and without conceptualization, asks

“Venerable Subhūti, just as thought is without distortion and without conceptualization, so too is form without distortion and without conceptualization?” P18k P25k P100k

4.­496

Then the elder Subhūti explains that the buddhadharmas up to

“unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening are without distortion and without conceptualization as well.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­497

“The Lord’s son, close to his bosom”‍— P18k P25k P100k

children born miraculously, in that they are born from their father’s heart, are called “children close to his bosom.” Alternatively, take this as the foremost child. So [F.94.a] this elder, in that he is a son born from the heart-mind, is “close to his bosom,” because he has come about from attention to calm abiding and special insight. He is

“born from his mouth,” P18k P25k

because he has come about from explanations of the doctrine;

“born from his Dharma,” P18k P25k P100k

because he has come about from Dharma practice;

“magically produced from his Dharma,” P18k P25k P100k

because he is born from path, result, and realization Dharma;

“his Dharma heir,” P18k P25k P100k

because he takes ownership of nirvāṇa‍—the Dharma;

“not heir to material possessions,” P18k P25k P100k

because he has eliminated craving;

“a direct eyewitness to the dharmas,” P18k P25k P100k

because he is not captured by anything other than the true nature of dharmas; and

“who witnesses with your body,” P18k P25k P100k

because he has attained the form and formless absorptions and has witnessed the dharma body.

4.­498

He is

“foremost of those who are at the conflict-free stage.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­499

In the śrāvaka system the meditative absorption that discourages harmful words is called the conflict-free meditative absorption. Because he is at that stage he is called “at the conflict-free stage.” Here, all conceptual thought construction is called “conflict.” Because all of that is absent, the nonconceptual meditative absorption is called without conflict. Because he is at that stage he is called “at the conflict-free stage.”

4.­500

Then the elder Śāriputra causes delight by praising with

“excellent!” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, teaches that a bodhisattva engaged in such an endeavor is irreversible from achieving awakening, and, having set forth all training at the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha level, and at the Bodhisattva level as benefiting this perfection of wisdom, rejoices in the fact that

“in this perfection of wisdom is detailed instruction for the three vehicles,” P18k P25k P100k

bringing the benefits of the endeavor to a conclusion.

Subdivisions of the endeavor512

4.­501

Having thus taught the benefits of the endeavor, [F.94.b] there has to be an explanation of the subdivisions of the endeavor for those who wonder about the endeavor’s many aspects, so from here on there is an explanation of six practices that cause going forth.513 The six practices that cause going forth are

practice free from the two extremes,

practice that does not stand,

practice that does not fully grasp,

practice that has made a full investigation,

practice of method,514 and

practice for quickly fully awakening.

4.­502

The Lord himself also teaches that these sorts of practices cause going forth when he sums up in conclusion with515

“those bodhisattva great beings stand on the irreversible level by way of not taking their stand on it and will go forth to the knowledge of all aspects and will be near the knowledge of all aspects,” P18k P25k

and so on. It teaches each of the six in its own place below.

Practice free from the two extremes

4.­503

Now, the elder Subhūti, in order to set the scene for these six practices, says,516

“Lord, given that I do not find, do not apprehend, and do not see a bodhisattva or the perfection of wisdom, to which bodhisattva will I give advice and instruction in what perfection of wisdom?” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. This is a fourfold teaching of a bodhisattva and the perfection of wisdom, as well as of a person who is suitable to be given instruction in what cannot be apprehended by the three valid cognitions governed by direct perception, inference, or conclusive teaching,517 and a perfection of wisdom that is a suitable instruction. Thinking that he does not see them, so, as to what person518 should they be construed, he poses the question in the passage ending with “give advice and instruction in what perfection of wisdom?”

4.­504

Then, since no real thing suitable to be the instructions can be apprehended with the three valid cognitions either, “this”‍—the instruction in an unreal dharma by an unreal dharma‍—“really” makes him “uneasy,” [F.95.a] which is to say, thinking he is unable to give instruction in a dharma that cannot be apprehended he thus teaches the passage from,

“Lord, given that I do not find, do not apprehend, and do not see any real basis…‍—Lord, while not finding, not apprehending, and not seeing any real basis, which dharma will advise and instruct which dharma?” P18k P100k

ending with

“this really is something I might be uneasy about.” P18k

4.­505

Here do not take “uneasy” as mental regret; “uneasy” is about a thing done badly.519 He intends, “It would be a fault because I would not have understood.”

4.­506

Again, persons and dharmas that are real things do not exist when presented520 as in the explanation of the instruction above; therefore, having taken them as simply just names, how could the persons and the dharmas wax and wane? With that thought he makes this statement:

4.­507

“Because, Lord, given that I do not find, do not apprehend, and do not see all dharmas, this really is something I might be uneasy about, how I might make just the name bodhisattva and just the name perfection of wisdom wax and wane.” P18k P25k P100k

“Wax” is the over-reification of what does not truly exist; “wane” is the over-negation of what does truly exist.

4.­508

Then, in order to teach that even those very names are not real things, he says,

“Lord, furthermore, that name does not stand alone and does not meet up with anything. And why? It is because that name does not exist.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­509

“Does not stand alone” means a compounded dharma thus does not stand; “does not meet up with anything” means that an uncompounded dharma like space and so on does not stand.

4.­510

After teaching like that, Subhūti, in order to further teach that, having seen every other dharma freed from the extremes of over-reification and over-negation, he does not see anything that could be labeled with the names bodhisattva or perfection of wisdom, [F.95.b] says,

“Lord, given that I do not apprehend and do not see the waxing and waning of form,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. Our own Lord Buddha and the tathāgatas together with their śrāvaka saṅghas and bodhisattva communities in as many world systems in the ten directions as there are sand particles in the Gaṅgā River teach the suchness of all the dharmas: the aggregates, constituents, sense fields, six contacts, six feelings, and six elements; the links of dependent origination; greed, hatred, and confusion; obsessions, obscurations, proclivities, fetters, and views; a self, a living being, a creature and so on (the thirteen); all the perfections; all the emptinesses; the dharmas on the side of awakening, gateways to liberation, four concentrations, four immeasurables, and formless absorptions; the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha; morality; giving away; the gods; disgust at what is included in the body;521 breathing in and out; death; the five eyes, six clairvoyances, ten powers, four fearlessnesses, four detailed and thorough knowledges, eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha, and five appropriating aggregates that are like a dream, illusion, mirage, city of the gandharvas, echo, apparition, reflection in the mirror, and magical creation; isolation, calm, nonproduction, nonstopping, nonappearing, not occasioning anything, nondefilement, and nonpurification; suchness, unmistaken suchness, unaltered suchness, the true nature of dharmas, the dharma-constituent, the establishment of dharmas, the certification of dharmas, the very limit of reality, and the inconceivable element; the wholesome and unwholesome, [F.96.a] basic immorality and not basic immorality, with outflows and without outflows, with afflictions and without afflictions, ordinary and extraordinary, compounded and uncompounded, defiled and purified, and saṃsāra and nirvāṇa dharmas; and the past, future, and present.

4.­511

What is the difference between the terms

“suchness, unmistaken suchness,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on? They are differentiated because the referent of the thoroughly established differs.

4.­512

Here the mark of the thoroughly established is ninefold:

the thoroughly established that is indestructible,

the thoroughly established without error,

the thoroughly established that does not alter,

the thoroughly established that is the nature of things,

the thoroughly established that is the state causing all purification dharmas,

the thoroughly established that is constant,

the thoroughly established that is irreversible,

the thoroughly established that is true reality, and

the thoroughly established beyond the path of logic.

4.­513

The thoroughly established that is indestructible is called suchness, because it always stays just like that without being destroyed.

4.­514

The thoroughly established without error is called unmistaken suchness because it is without mistakes and is not a form of error.

4.­515

The thoroughly established that does not alter is called unaltered suchness because it does not change.

4.­516

The thoroughly established in its intrinsic nature is called the true nature of dharmas because it is the mark that all dharmas share‍—having emptiness for their intrinsic nature.

4.­517

The thoroughly established that is the cause of all purification dharmas is called [F.96.b] the dharma-constituent because it is the constituent and cause of all the buddhadharmas‍—the ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, and so on.

4.­518

The mark of the thoroughly established that is constant is called the establishment of dharmas because it remains constantly, because it says,522

“Whether the tathāgatas arise or whether they do not arise this true nature of dharmas simply remains.” P18k

4.­519

The thoroughly established that is irreversible is called the certification of dharmas because by breaking through to523 the first level on up one goes forth to a state in which perfection is certain because one will have gone forth to perfect, complete awakening‍—to flawlessness.

4.­520

The thoroughly established that is true reality is called the very limit of reality because it reaches its limit in reality, in the true reality that is without error.

4.­521

The thoroughly established beyond the limit524 of logic is called the inconceivable element because it is inexpressible, self-reflexive analytic knowledge beyond the scope of all inference.

4.­522

Furthermore, all imaginary phenomena are

like a dream P18k P25k P100k

because they are not like that when awakening has happened. The opposite of those is called suchness, because suchness exists at all times.

4.­523

All dharmas are like

an illusion P18k P25k P100k

because they are mistaken appearances, so the opposite of those is called unmistaken suchness, because it is an unmistaken nature.

4.­524

All dharmas are like

a mirage P18k P25k P100k

because while they are one thing they look like something else, so the opposite of those is called unaltered suchness because it does not ever change.525

4.­525

All dharmas are like

a reflection of the moon in water P18k P25k P100k

because, while that is not the actual nature of that phenomenon, it appears as that phenomenon’s actual nature, so the opposite of those is called the true nature of dharmas, because it is the nature of the ultimate.

4.­526

All dharmas are like

a city of the gandharvas [F.97.a] P18k

because they are meaningless. The opposite of those is called the dharma-constituent because it is the cause of the buddhadharmas and is meaningful.

4.­527

All dharmas are like

an echo P18k P25k P100k

because they are fleeting. The opposite of those is called the establishment of dharmas because its mark is lasting.

4.­528

All dharmas are like

an apparition P18k P25k P100k

because they have a nature that is not fixed. The opposite of those is the certification of dharmas because its nature is fixed.

4.­529

All dharmas are like

a reflection in the mirror P18k P25k P100k

because they are a transference of consciousness. The opposite of those is the very limit of reality because it is the ultimate.

4.­530

All dharmas are like

a magical creation P18k P25k P100k

because they are karmically created by mind. The opposite of those is the inconceivable element because it is beyond the entire scope of the thinking mind.

4.­531

Ultimately these are all synonyms of the thoroughly established.

4.­532

Having eliminated over-reification and over-negation by teaching that you cannot apprehend the waxing and waning of all phenomena, to teach that a name cannot be apprehended, he says,526

“Lord, whatever this designation bodhisattva that is a conventional term for the true nature of dharmas is, it cannot be said to be aggregates, or constituents, or sense fields,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. This teaching is in two parts.527

4.­533

The subsection of the passage528 saying “it cannot be said to be… at all” teaches that a name529 is not included in the collection of dharmas‍—the aggregates, constituents, sense fields, and so on. The subsection of the passage saying “cannot be said to be anything”530 teaches not being included in the true dharmic nature of

“wholesome or unwholesome or neutral, basic immorality or not basic immorality,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­534

The subsection of the passage saying “cannot be said by anything at all” teaches by saying the names for [F.97.b]

“dream, illusion, mirage, city of the gandharvas, echo, apparition, a reflection in the mirror, and magical creation,” P18k P25k P100k

which are absolutely nonexistent but still are renowned in the world; for

“space, earth, water, fire, and wind,” P18k P25k P100k

which are renowned as having the mark of just conceptualized phenomena; for

“suchness, unmistaken suchness, unaltered suchness, true nature of dharmas, dharma-constituent, establishment of dharmas, certification of dharmas, and very limit of reality,” P18k P25k P100k

which are renowned as having the mark of the thoroughly established; for all the perfections that are renowned as the true dharmic nature of bodhisattvas; for

“morality, meditative stabilization, wisdom, liberation, and knowledge and seeing of liberation,” P18k P25k P100k

all of which are renowned as the true dharmic nature of śrāvakas; and for

“stream enterer, once-returner, non-returner, worthy one, and pratyekabuddha”; P18k P25k P100k

and for

“stream enterer dharmas,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on; and for

“bodhisattva, bodhisattva dharmas… and buddha, and buddhadharmas.” P18k P25k P100k

[B9]

4.­535

Then, at the end of just that practice free from the two extremes, again, in conclusion, to teach going forth, the passage, up to the end, says,531

“You should know that bodhisattva great beings stand on the irreversible level by way of not taking their stand on it and will go forth to the knowledge of all aspects.” P18k P25k P100k

Practice that does not stand

4.­536

Having thus given the names and taught the dharmas of the practice free from the two extremes, after that, to teach the practice that does not stand, it says,

“Furthermore, Lord, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom should not stand in form,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­537

It also teaches this practice in two parts: not standing in dharmas and not standing in the true nature of dharmas.

4.­538

Among these, [F.98.a] not standing in dharmas is the passage from where it says

“should not stand in form,” P18k P25k P100k

up to,532

“Because of this one of many explanations, Lord, when bodhisattva great beings are practicing the perfection of wisdom they should not stand in syllables.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­539

Not standing in the true nature of dharmas is the passage from where it says,

“Furthermore, Lord, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom should not stand in ‘form is impermanent,’ ” P18k P25k P100k

and ending with533

“and therefore do not fulfill the perfection of wisdom and go forth to the knowledge of all aspects.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­540

At the end of listing the dharmas within the context of explaining the practice free from the two extremes, it says534

“[they] stand on the irreversible level by way of not taking their stand on it and will go forth to the knowledge of all aspects.” P18k P25k P100k

Because it says “by way of not taking their stand,” it should be taken as a segue to the category of the practice that does not stand.

4.­541

Now an explanation has to be given that lists the dharmas within the context of explaining all the practices that do not stand, so, having taught that they do not stand in the five aggregates, with

“[they] should not stand in form; they should not stand in feeling, perception, volitional factors, or consciousness,” P18k P25k P100k

it then, taking form as its point of departure, also gives the reason why they do not stand in each of them separately, with,535

“Lord, it is because form is empty of form… that emptiness of form is not form, and emptiness is not other than form. Form itself is emptiness, and emptiness itself is form.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­542

The intention is as follows: Earlier it said that they “should not stand in form,” and it said that it is “because form is empty of form.” There are three types of form: falsely imagined form, conceptualized form, [F.98.b] and the true dharmic nature of form.

4.­543

Among these, the form ordinary foolish beings take to be defined as an easily breakable or seeable real thing is imaginary form.

4.­544

The aspect in which just that appears as real as an object of consciousness is conceptualized form.

4.­545

Just the bare thoroughly established suchness separated from those two falsely imagined and conceptualized form aspects is the true dharmic nature of form. It is

“empty” P18k P25k P100k

because it is empty of the definitions‍—being seeable and so on‍—of imaginary phenomena, and of any form conceptualized as a form appearing in the aspect of an object.536

4.­546

When this is said, someone might entertain a doubt, thinking that that which is the true dharmic nature of form empty of the imaginary form and conceptualized form might have a definition of form that is quite other, and it might then also be called “form.” It therefore says

“that emptiness of form is not form.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­547

This means the suchness537 empty of imaginary and conceptualized form that is the true dharmic nature of form marking the thoroughly established does not have form for its intrinsic nature because it is totally isolated from form aspects.

4.­548

When this is said, someone might entertain a doubt, thinking that if form is totally nonexistent, well then, that of which it is empty is called “emptiness,” and without the object there is no emptiness, so, a true dharmic nature that is other than a dharma is not tenable, and a dharma that is other than a true dharmic nature is not tenable either.538 It therefore says

“and emptiness is not other than form.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­549

What does this teach? It means that just as water that is not clear is called “dirty” when it is not clear, and “clear water” when it is clear, and just as space is called “cloudy” when it is not clear, [F.99.a] and “clear space” when it is clear, similarly with this emptiness. In nonpure contexts you use the word “form” and so on for it, in order not to be different from ordinary fools, and in pure contexts you call it “emptiness.” Therefore the dharmas, form and so on, that are different from emptiness do not exist. Because a difference between dharmas and the true nature of dharmas does not exist, when you set forth a dharma as the true dharmic nature

“form itself is emptiness, and” P18k P25k P100k

when you have set forth the true dharmic nature as a dharma

“emptiness itself is form.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­550

Alternatively, in

“form itself is emptiness, and emptiness itself is form,” P18k P25k P100k

take emptiness as suchness, as the true dharmic nature of form.

4.­551

Thus, it says

“they should not stand in form,” P18k P25k P100k

because it is not suitable for them to stand in imaginary and conceptualized forms that are absolutely nonexistent, and it is also not suitable for them to stand in thoroughly established form.

4.­552

Similarly, connect this with

“feeling” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­553

“Should not stand in syllables” P18k P25k P100k

and so on‍—they should not stand in seed syllables.539

4.­554

“Should not stand in syllable accomplishment”‍— P18k P25k P100k

the term “syllable accomplishment” is used for the production of the knowledge of anutpāda (“nonproduction”) after resorting to the seed syllable a, and so on, used as a dhāraṇī. This teaches that they should not stand there either. That dhāraṇī knowledge is a product of such explanations as540

“a is the door to all dharmas because they are unproduced from the very beginning.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­555

That statement, furthermore, becomes a condition for full awakening when certain bodhisattvas with sharp faculties resort to the single statement and enter into the meaning of nonproduction. It happens when those with middling faculties resort to two syllables and have become familiar with two statements. [F.99.b] Many statements become a condition for full awakening when those with dull faculties resort to them and have become familiar with them. Hence it says541

“should not stand… in a single explanation, in two explanations, or in a number of different explanations.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­556

Also, in the subsection of the passage about not standing in542 the true nature of dharmas, it says543

“form that is impermanent is empty of the intrinsic nature of form that is impermanent.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­557

The impermanence of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas is marked by production and cessation, that is, is marked as a falsely imagined phenomenon. The nonexistent thing that is the meaning based on the bodhisattvas’ definition of impermanence is said to be “the meaning of impermanence.” Thus, existing permanently is called permanence. A permanently nonexistent thing, being nonexistent at all times, the opposite of that, is said to be the bodhisattvas’ impermanence. Hence it is saying that impermanence is ultimately marked by nonexistence. “Form that is impermanent is empty of the intrinsic nature of form that is impermanent”: that true reality, the ultimately “impermanent” of the bodhisattvas, is “empty of the intrinsic nature of the impermanent” marked by production and cessation that is conceptualized by śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas.

4.­558

“And why?” It says,544

“Also, that which is the emptiness of form that is impermanent is not the impermanence of form.” P25k P100k

This means that that which, ultimately, is the true reality that is the impermanence of form is not the intrinsic nature of the impermanence of imaginary form, and therefore the ultimate impermanence of form is empty of the impermanence of imaginary form.

4.­559

To those who think, “In that case the true nature of a dharma is different from the dharma,” it says545

“and form that is impermanent is not other than emptiness.” P25k P100k

This means that there is no impermanence of a falsely imagined form other than suchness, like clean water and space.

4.­560

Because they are not different, it says546

“and emptiness itself is form that is impermanent.” [F.100.a] P25k P100k

The idea is that emptiness is a word to convey the emptiness of form that is impermanent.

4.­561

Connect this in the same way with all the rest.

Practice that does not fully grasp

4.­562

Having thus taught practice that does not stand, to teach the faults of standing, it says,547

“Furthermore, Lord, when bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom without skill in means stand in form with a mind that has descended into grasping at ‘I’ and grasping at ‘mine,’ they practice an enactment548 of form, and they do not practice the perfection of wisdom,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. It means if, “without skill in means”‍—which is to say if, having incorrectly grasped dharmas without knowing that they are characterized as something that does not exist‍—they “stand in form,” and think, “I am, in my basic nature, form,” or “this form is me,” or “it is defined as being seeable,” then they “practice an enactment of form,” that is, a karmically formed phenomenon that ensues when there is the conception of form, “not the perfection of wisdom” that follows emptiness.

4.­563

To teach the faults of practicing an enactment, it says

“practicing an enactment [they] do not cultivate the perfection of wisdom,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­564

To those thinking, “Why, without such skill in means, when practicing an enactment of form and descending into grasping at ‘I’ and grasping at ‘mine,’ do they not attain the practice of the perfection of wisdom, and not attain the definite emergences549 by becoming absorbed in550 and completing the yogic practice that does not fully grasp?” it says,551

“It is because, Lord, form is not fully grasped,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­565

This is the “practice that does not fully grasp.” It teaches this practice in three parts as well:

not fully grasping dharmas, [F.100.b]

not fully grasping causal signs, and

not fully grasping understanding.

4.­566

Among these, the subsection explaining not fully grasping dharmas is from552

“form is not fully grasped, and…,” P18k P25k P100k

and from553

“that knowledge of all aspects is not fully grasped, because of inner emptiness,” P18k P25k P100k

up to

“because of the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­567

The subsection on not fully grasping causal signs starts from,554

“And why? Because it cannot be expressed as a causal sign,” P18k P25k P100k

and goes up to555

“having thus comprehended he did not fully grasp form, did not fully grasp feeling,” P18k P25k P100k

and up to556

“did not fully grasp the very limit of reality.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­568

The subsection of the passage on not fully grasping understanding is from,

“And why? Because he did not apprehend a grasper of all dharmas that are empty of their own mark,”557 P18k P25k

up to,

“Lord, because all dharmas are not fully grasped, it is the bodhisattva great being’s perfection of wisdom.”558 P18k P25k P100k

Not Fully Grasping Dharmas

4.­569

There, first, in the subsection explaining not fully grasping dharmas, in regard to

“form is not fully grasped,” P18k P25k P100k

because of the self, the true dharmic nature of form‍—whatever the cause of a descent into grasping at “I” and grasping at “mine”‍—is not grasped as form. Therefore, it teaches that when an enactment is practiced, it is not a practice practicing the ultimate perfection of wisdom. “And why” is form not fully grasped? It says,559

“Because a form not fully grasped is not form, because of the emptiness of a basic nature.” P18k P25k P100k

Here, take “not fully grasped” with the mark of a thoroughly established phenomenon. It is saying that the true dharmic nature of560 form that is not fully grasped, which is the intrinsic nature of a thoroughly established phenomenon, is not a falsely imagined form’s intrinsic nature. Therefore, the true dharmic nature of form561 is connected with “is not fully grasped.” [F.101.a]

4.­570

“Because of the emptiness of a basic nature” means it is not the case that, having fully grasped some aspect of an attribute of form and so on earlier, later some other counteracting force will make it empty. Its basic nature is emptiness.

4.­571

Construe from “feeling” and so on, up to “the very limit of reality,” like that as well.

4.­572

“Lord, this meditative concentration sphere of bodhisattva great beings is called sarva­dharmāparigṛhīta; it is vast, prized, infinite, fixed, cannot be stolen, and is not shared in common with śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas” P18k P25k P100k

teaches its dharma.562

4.­573

“Abiding in that sphere of meditative stabilizations” P18k P25k P100k

and so on teaches the benefit.

4.­574

“And that knowledge of all aspects is not fully grasped, because of inner emptiness,” P18k P25k P100k

up to

“emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature,” P18k P25k P100k

is teaching that because the completion of the thoroughly cleansed transcendental knowledge of all the emptinesses when all dharmas are not apprehended is “the knowledge of all aspects,”563 therefore it too is “not fully grasped.”

4.­575

Therefore, it says

“it cannot be expressed as a causal sign.” P18k P25k P100k

This means that even the knowledge of all aspects is separated from the causal sign of the knowledge of all aspects because it definitely does not have a mental image of a causal sign.

4.­576

“Because a causal sign is an affliction”564‍— P18k P25k P100k

the very causal signs of the bodhisattvas’ conceptualizations afflict the mindstream, so they are taught to be “affliction.”

Not Fully Grasping Causal Signs

4.­577

The subsection on not fully grasping causal signs also explains in terms of these,565 so it says,

“What is a causal sign? Form is a causal sign,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. It means that they are all, ultimately, afflictions for bodhisattvas so they should be abandoned, but not like attachment and so on.

4.­578

“If the perfection of wisdom [F.101.b] were something that could be taken up through a causal sign, then the religious mendicant Śreṇika,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, is an elucidation of the practice without causal signs.

4.­579

“The religious mendicant Śreṇika also believed in this knowledge of a knower of all aspects.” P18k P25k P100k

Earlier, that religious mendicant had not realized the practice without causal signs. He had generated a faith in it,566 and with just that faith he produced and gained knowledge free from causal signs, but because all dharmas were not its object it was not the knowledge without causal signs.567

4.­580

“Partial knowledge”‍— P18k P25k P100k

having comprehended dharmas, each individually, he did not apprehend the causal sign of form when he had fully grasped and understood form analytically. Similarly, he did not apprehend the causal sign of feeling when he had fully grasped and understood feeling analytically. Hence it says,

“Having thus comprehended [he] did not fully grasp form. Similarly, he did not fully grasp feeling, perception, volitional factors, or consciousness,” P18k P25k P100k

up to

“he has not fully grasped even the very limit of reality.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­581

To teach the reason for that, it explains568

“because he did not apprehend a grasper of all dharmas that are empty of their own mark.” P18k P25k P100k

By having comprehended with that signless knowledge each of them individually in the form of signlessness, he comes to understand that all dharmas are empty of their own mark. Hence “he did not apprehend” a person or knower that is “a grasper.”

4.­582

Also, as a reason for that it says,569

“Because he did not see that knowledge as being an inner attainment and clear realization of knowledge, and he did not see it as being an outer one. He did not see that knowledge as being an inner and outer attainment and clear realization, and he did not see that attainment and clear realization of knowledge as being some other either.”570 P18k P25k P100k

4.­583

This means that religious mendicant, having taken hold of his knowledge and fully investigated the attainment and the realization‍—whether with this knowledge of his he had attained special dharmas he had not attained before, [F.102.a] or whether the dharmas he had clearly realized with this knowledge had not been clearly realized before‍—did not see the knowledge as located in him, located outside, located in both, or located somewhere else besides those. Hence it says571

“because he did not apprehend and did not see that with which he might know, or that which the knowledge might know.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­584

There the “that with which” is teaching “that knowledge with which.” The “that which” is teaching “that which he has attained and clearly realized.” The “that which” is also teaching the dharmas he has not attained and has not clearly realized.572

Not Fully Grasping Understanding

4.­585

Having thus taught that knowledge of attainment and clear realization does not exist as any of the four alternatives, then, in order to teach that knowledge of all dharmas‍—form and so on, which are objects‍—also does not operate as any of the four alternatives, it says

“he did not see that knowledge inside form,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. It means that he also did not see the knowledge of all dharmas‍—form and so on, which are objects‍—inside, outside, in both, or somewhere else.

4.­586

To again elucidate just that, it says,

“The religious mendicant Śreṇika believed in this one of many explanations,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, up to

“because he did not pay attention to any causal signs.” P18k P25k P100k

This teaches the benefit of this comprehension of practice that does not fully grasp.

4.­587

“Lord, this‍—… the state in which the bodhisattva great beings have gone beyond the others; it is the perfection of wisdom.”573 P18k P25k P100k

This means it is thus a beyond that is different from all other dharmas, which has become different from all conceptualizations and all causal signs. The absence of conceptualization is the beyond in the sense that signlessness is the “beyond.” [F.102.b]

4.­588

What is that which is beyond the others? It says

“that he does not fully grasp form,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. Because he does not fully grasp form and so on, he is therefore “beyond the others.”

4.­589

“In the interim they do not pass into complete nirvāṇa.” P18k P25k P100k

That religious mendicant Śreṇika is in the buddha lineage so in the interim he does not pass into nirvāṇa.574 As for saying “in the interim,” it says

“those prayers are nonprayers, those powers are nonpowers, those fearlessnesses are nonfearlessnesses, those detailed and thorough knowledges are nondetailed and nonthorough knowledges, up to those eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha are nonbuddhadharmas,” P18k P25k P100k

so this “in the interim” teaches they are beyond the others.

Practice that has made a full investigation575

4.­590

Having thus made fully complete the practice that does not fully grasp, next, taking the practice that has made a full investigation as its point of departure, it says,

“Furthermore, Lord, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom should make an investigation like this,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­591

This practice that has made a full investigation is taught in four parts as well:

“What is it… of what is it… why is it… and what is it for?”576 P18k P25k P100k

4.­592

From577

“if, when they investigate and ponder like that,” P18k P25k P100k

up to

“thus, practicing the perfection of wisdom… are not separated from the knowledge of all aspects,” P18k P25k P100k

teaches the “what.”

4.­593

From578

“Venerable Śāriputra, form is separated from the intrinsic nature of form,” P18k P25k P100k

up to

“the very limit of reality is separated from the intrinsic nature of the very limit of reality,” P18k P25k P100k

teaches the “of what.”

4.­594

From579

“furthermore, Venerable Śāriputra, form does not have the defining mark of form,” P18k P25k P100k

up to

“bodhisattva great beings who are training in this training go forth to the knowledge of all aspects,” P18k P25k P100k

teaches [F.103.a] the “why.”

4.­595

From580

“all dharmas have not been produced and have not gone forth,” P18k P25k P100k

up to

“Venerable Śāriputra, a bodhisattva great being thus practicing the perfection of wisdom is near unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening,” P18k P25k P100k

teaches the “what it is for.”

4.­596

There, “what is it” is a question about its basic nature. There the perfection of wisdom should be described as a realization.

4.­597

“Of what is it” is a question about what it is connected with. There it should be described as a realization of all dharmas.

4.­598

“Why is it” is a question about the reason it is the perfection of wisdom. There it should be said it is because it is a realization marked by the state of things as they really are.

4.­599

“What is it for” is a question about function.581 There it should be said it is because it causes an escape.

4.­600

It says

“when they investigate and ponder” P18k P25k P100k

the responses that have to be made to all those

“like that”‍— P18k P25k P100k

as in the response to the above question “what is it?”‍—

“if… they see that the dharma that does not exist and that they do not find is the perfection of wisdom they still do not see it.”582 P18k P25k P100k

If they thus see that the dharma that does not exist and is not found is the perfection of wisdom, that too is not seeing.

4.­601

What does this intend? It means that at that time even the intrinsic nature of all dharmas that cannot be apprehended is like space, so, when that which has viewed it is a seeing without an intrinsic nature, it is a perfect seeing.

4.­602

Therefore, it says

“because, Lord, all dharmas do not exist and are not found.” P18k P25k

It means during that period.

4.­603

When the elder Subhūti says583

“you should know” P18k P25k P100k

that those who, when they see that all dharmas, form and so on, are not real things,

“are not cowed… and do not tremble,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, are not separated from the knowledge of all aspects, the elder Śāriputra, to teach the mark of nonseparation, [F.103.b] asks,

“Venerable Subhūti, why should you know that they are not separated from the knowledge of all aspects?” P18k P25k P100k

4.­604

At that point the elder Subhūti says that because all dharmas are separated from an intrinsic nature, therefore

“you should know” P18k P25k P100k

that those who see that this is so

“are not separated from the knowledge of all aspects.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­605

With,584

“Venerable Śāriputra, because of this one of many explanations, form does not have the intrinsic nature of form,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, he answers the question “of what” is it the perfection of wisdom? Given that all dharmas are not real things because they are separated from an intrinsic nature, what dharmas does it then realize so that it is taught to be “the perfection of wisdom”?

4.­606

From,

“Furthermore, Venerable Śāriputra, form does not have the defining mark of form,” P18k P25k P100k

up to those

“who are training in this… go forth to the knowledge of all aspects,” P18k P25k P100k

teaches why it is a perfection of wisdom. It is posited as “the perfection of wisdom” because it realizes the marks of all dharmas. This is teaching that if all dharmas have no marks and are separated from marks, what are the marks it realizes? It is saying because all marks are falsely imagined, are nonexistent, therefore the true nature of dharmas is separated from the mark of form and so on.

4.­607

From,585

“Venerable Subhūti, do bodhisattva great beings training in this training go forth to the knowledge of all aspects?” P18k P25k P100k

up to,

“Venerable Śāriputra,586 bodhisattva great beings thus practicing the perfection of wisdom are near unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening” P18k P25k P100k

teaches what this perfection of wisdom is for. It is a “perfection of wisdom” because it causes an escape. [F.104.a] That escape, furthermore, is not to all dharmas,

“because all dharmas have not been produced and have not gone forth.” P18k P25k P100k

Hence it is also teaching that it also does not cause an escape.

4.­608

“Venerable Śāriputra… form is empty of form. You cannot get at its production and going forth.” P18k P25k P100k

This means that because the thoroughly established true dharmic nature of form is empty of the intrinsic nature of falsely imagined form, therefore there is no production and going forth of a defiled nature during the period of saṃsāra, and no mistaken entity exists in the purified nature during the purified period. Hence a going forth plucked out of thin air does not exist, because in its intrinsic nature it is purity, and the true nature of dharmas does not change. It

“has not been produced” P18k P25k P100k

during the period when it has stains, and it

“has not gone forth” P18k P25k P100k

during the period when it is stainless.

Practice of method587

4.­609

Having thus taught the practice that has made a full investigation, next, to teach the practice as perseverance is the passage from where it says,588

“Lord, if bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom without skillful means practice form,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, up to the end:

“Śāriputra… they… bodhisattva great beings… are close to the knowledge of all aspects.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­610

This practice as perseverance is also taught in two parts: the lack of method that has to be eliminated, and the method that has to be resorted to. The lack of method is explained in two parts as well: the practice of causal signs, and the practice of enactment. The method to be resorted to is also explained in two parts: not practicing dharmas, and not practicing the causal signs of dharmas.

4.­611

Among these, the practice of causal signs because of lacking method is from

“if… without skillful means [bodhisattva great beings] practice form they practice a causal sign; [F.104.b] they do not practice the perfection of wisdom,” P18k P25k P100k

up to where it says,589

“You should know that this is the bodhisattva great beings’ lack of skillful means.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­612

The practice of enactment because of lacking method starts from where it says590

“possess, form a notion of, and believe in form,” P18k P25k P100k

and is up to,

“Venerable Śāriputra, you should know that bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom like that are without skillful means.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­613

They “possess” because of mental error, “form a notion” because of perceptual error, and “believe” because of philosophical error.591

4.­614

For the practice of method, the practice without apprehending592 dharmas starts from where it says,593

“Venerable Śāriputra… when bodhisattva great beings practice the perfection of wisdom they do not practice form,” P18k P25k P100k

and goes up to,

“Venerable Śāriputra, when bodhisattva great beings practice the perfection of wisdom like that you should know that they have skillful means.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­615

I have already explained “the emptiness of form is not form” and so on above,594 so there is no need to repeat the explanation here.

4.­616

In the practice of method, practice without apprehending the causal signs of dharmas starts from where it says,595

“If, while practicing the perfection of wisdom they apprehend any dharma, they are not practicing the perfection of wisdom,” P18k P25k P100k

and goes up to

“[those] bodhisattva great beings… are close to the knowledge of all aspects.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­617

There, connect the four alternatives that596

“they apprehend… they do not apprehend… they apprehend when they apprehend and do not apprehend when they do not apprehend… and they neither apprehend nor not apprehend” P18k P25k P100k

with causal signs; and construe these four this way:597

4.­618

“ ‘I am practicing,’… ‘I am not practicing,’… ‘I am practicing when I am practicing [F.105.a] and not practicing when I am not practicing,’ and… ‘I am neither practicing nor not practicing’ ” P18k

with causal signs as well.

4.­619

“The perfection of wisdom is without an intrinsic nature and cannot be found”598‍— P18k P25k

at the thoroughly established stage all dharmas cannot be apprehended, so even the perfection of wisdom does not exist on account of the perfection of wisdom’s own intrinsic nature.

Practice for quickly fully awakening

4.­620

Having thus taught the practice of perseverance, now, with599

“furthermore… that knowledge of all aspects is not two and cannot be divided into two,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, it teaches the practice for quickly fully awakening. This practice is also taught in four parts:

training in the meditative stabilization spheres,

training in not apprehending all dharmas,

training in the illusion-like and so on, and

training in skillful means.

4.­621

Among them, the training in meditative stabilizations starts from600

“because all dharmas are things that are not real, that knowledge of all aspects is not two and cannot be divided into two,” P18k P25k P100k

and goes up to

“one should train in the applications of mindfulness.” P100k

4.­622

Training in not apprehending all dharmas is taught in the passage starting from where it says,

“Śāriputra, when bodhisattva great beings train like that in the perfection of wisdom,” P18k P25k P100k

and

“they train in the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha, by way of not apprehending anything,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, up to the end:

4.­623

“Śāriputra, they go forth to the knowledge of all aspects by way of not apprehending emptiness.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­624

Training in the illusion-like and so on is taught in the passage starting from where it says,601

“Lord, suppose someone were to ask, ‘Does this illusory being, having trained in the perfection of wisdom, go forth to the knowledge of all aspects or reach the knowledge of all aspects?’ ” P18k P25k P100k

up to,

“Because, Lord, form is like an illusion, and feeling [F.105.b]… perception… volitional factors… and consciousness is like an illusion, and what that consciousness is, the six faculties are. They are the five aggregates.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­625

Skillful means is taught in the passage starting from where it says,602

“Subhūti… if they are bodhisattva great beings who have newly set out in the vehicle, and are those without skillful means who have not been taken in hand by a spiritual friend,” P18k P25k P100k

up to

“someone… Subhūti, they should know is a bad friend of a bodhisattva great being.” P18k P25k P100k

Training in the meditative stabilization spheres

4.­626

Among these, training in meditative stabilizations is taught in two parts: an explanation of the names and an explanation of nonconceptualization.

4.­627

Among these, in regard to the explanation of names, it first teaches meditative stabilization in the form of nonproduction with,603

“Furthermore, because all dharmas are things that are not real, that knowledge of all aspects is not two and cannot be divided into two,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. Construe “knowledge of all aspects” as the stage when all dharmas are not two, because for all imaginary dharmas there is bifurcation into grasped-object and grasper-subject, exist and does not exist, real thing and unreal thing, eternal and annihilated, compounded and uncompounded, dharma and nondharma, and so on, as well as into permanent and impermanent, pleasure and suffering, having a self and selfless, calm and not calm, empty and not empty, having a sign and signless, wished for and wishless, and so on. All those pairs are falsely imagined phenomena, and because they do not exist in the knowledge of all aspects it says the “knowledge of all aspects is not two.” A real twofold thing arrived at through realization604 [F.106.a] does not exist, so it says “cannot be divided into two.”

4.­628

Having taught abiding in meditative stabilization by giving the names of the meditative stabilizations, then, to teach abiding in nonconceptual meditative stabilization, it says605

“those… do not even see those meditative stabilizations, because they do not falsely project on account of those meditative stabilizations, ‘I have been absorbed,’ ” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. They “do not even see meditative stabilization” because it is the meditative stabilization at the thoroughly established stage when all dharmas have become just suchness.

4.­629

Because the falsely imagined “I will be in meditative equipoise” and so on606 are totally nonexistent, the threefold conceptualizations based on time periods of them as meditative stabilization and of oneself in meditative equipoise, and the conceptualization of entering into absorption and conceptualization do not exist. Therefore, it says,

“Those bodhisattva great beings do not conceive of those.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­630

And just because of that it says,

“The perfection of wisdom is not one thing, the meditative stabilization another, and the bodhisattva yet another. Bodhisattvas themselves are the meditative stabilization, and the meditative stabilization itself is the bodhisattva.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­631

It says that because all dharmas have the same nature as mere suchness. And just because of that, it says

“because all dharmas are the same.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­632

“Is it possible to teach the meditative stabilization?”‍— P18k P25k P100k

which is to say, is it possible to differentiate them and describe it? He asks, thinking that in that case the bodhisattvas themselves would be the meditative stabilizations. In order to explain that the mark of a meditative stabilization is not different it says,

“No indeed, Venerable Śāriputra.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­633

Then the elder Śāriputra, wondering why, if the names of the meditative stabilizations do not exist, their names were given, [F.106.b] asks,607

“Do they form a notion of those meditative stabilizations?” P18k P25k P100k

4.­634

He is asking, “Like śrāvakas do?” Then, because such mental construction does not exist, venerable Subhūti says,

“They do not form such notions.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­635

Then, because the explanation of the meditative stabilizations has been taught in one explanation and the activity taught in another, Śāriputra asks,

“How do they not form such notions?” P18k P25k P100k

4.­636

Then, because the meditative stabilizations and their functions exist with a falsely imagined nature but cannot be apprehended when the marks of the falsely imagined have been eliminated, Subhūti therefore says,

“They do not mentally construct them.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­637

Then, to eliminate the thought of “mine,” it says

“because all phenomena do not exist.”608 P18k P25k P100k

4.­638

Thus, take the “conflict” in609

“taught to be the foremost of śrāvakas at the conflict-free stage” P18k P25k P100k

as conceptualization. Freedom from all thought construction, absorption into the nonconceptual, is absorption into “the conflict-free.” Hence the Lord confers an

“excellent!” P18k P25k P100k

on the nonconceptual state.

Training in not apprehending all dharmas

4.­639

Having thus given an exposition of the training in meditative stabilization, to teach training in not apprehending it says,610

“Śāriputra… training like that… up to they train in the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha, by way of not apprehending anything,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­640

To teach training in not apprehending, it gives an exposition of not apprehending persons with,

“Śāriputra, because of the state of absolute purity they do not apprehend a self,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. It then gives an exposition of not apprehending all dharmas, with

“aggregates, constituents, sense fields,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, teaching

“they do not apprehend a stream enterer,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, up to

“a buddha.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­641

As for

“because of the state of absolute purity” P18k P25k P100k

they all611 have, having taken the completion of purification to be serving as a cause, in order to inquire about its intrinsic nature he asks,

“Lord, what is purity?” [F.107.a] P18k P25k P100k

4.­642

The Lord, to teach that the stainless, thoroughly established suchness is purity, says,

“Śāriputra, not being produced, not stopping, not being defilement, not being purification, not appearing, not being apprehended, and not occasioning anything is called the purity of all dharmas.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­643

Earlier, during the period when suchness has stains, all dharmas are produced and stop, are defiled and purified as falsely imagined phenomena. The produced comes into being and, having come into being, it is apprehended like this and like that, occasioning things like this and like that. During the period when there are no stains, in each and every way, the production of all dharmas in that suchness is nonexistent. Because there is no production, there is no stopping; because there are no stains there is no defilement, no purification, and no appearing; because there is no appearing there is no apprehending; and because there is no apprehending, there is not occasioning anything. This is called “absolute purity.”

4.­644

“Do not train in any dharma”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because bodhisattvas do not see all dharmas during the period when there are no stains, it says

“those dharmas do not exist612 in the way foolish, ordinary people take them to be.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­645

To teach that marked as being falsely imagined they are nonexistent it says,

“Śāriputra, as they do not exist, so do they exist.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­646

To teach that they exist in the inexpressible form of a falsely imagined thing that does not exist it says,613

4.­647

“Thus, they do not exist, so one says ignorance.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­648

This means that like dream consciousness it is not in its nature a state of perfect reality. Even while not there, it causes grasping at other things that do not exist. Alternatively, it does not know perfectly, which is to say, it causes imperfect knowledge and understanding, hence it is “ignorance.”

4.­649

Śāriputra asks,

“Lord why [F.107.b] are the nonexistent called ignorance?” P18k P25k P100k

and it says,

“Śāriputra, form does not exist,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. Here is what it intends: even though dharmas are thus nonexistent and unreal, they are grasped as if they really exist, so they are not known perfectly, which is to say are not understood perfectly, so it is “ignorance.” To teach that, the Lord614 says the dharmas, “form” and so on, do not exist.

4.­650

To make just this meaning clear it says,615

“Those foolish people [who] settle down on them because of ignorance and craving… are attached to the two extremes.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­651

It means having settled down on the aspect of existence through the power of ignorance and having settled down by way of relishing the experience through the power of craving, they become “attached to the two extremes,”

“permanence and annihilation.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­652

“They do not know, and they do not see”‍— P18k P25k P100k

that is to say, they do not understand with inferential or direct perception, or else on account of the force of scripture or the force of their own personality.

4.­653

This is in three parts, where it lists the dharmas in the context of explaining:

they have come about rooted in ignorance,

they have come about rooted in thought construction, and

they have come about rooted in the absence of faith.

4.­654

There, the first section explains that having grasped dharmas as existing where they do not exist because of the power of ignorance, and through the power of relishing the experience because of craving, having fallen into the two extremes, fools “do not know and do not see.”

4.­655

The second section explains they thus do not know and see, therefore mental constructions multiply. Mentally constructing dharmas not for what they are and settling down on them, mentally constructing them at the two extremes, they “do not know and do not see.” Because they do not know and see all dharmas616

“they are, therefore, counted as fools. They will not definitely emerge.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­656

The third section similarly explains that even though they have heard about them for what they really are, “they do not place their faith” in that reality, so, because they do not abide in serene confidence “they do not rest” in the perfections; and because they do not rest in the practice they do not attain the dharmas to be realized, [F.108.a] such as becoming irreversible from awakening and so on. So617

“they are, therefore, counted as fools,” P18k P25k P100k

as ordinary people, because of the fault of settling down on all dharmas.

4.­657

Having been taught that those like that do not train in them and do not go forth, there is the question,618

“Why… do they… not train… and not go forth?” P18k P25k P100k

4.­658

And it says they “do not train” because

“without skillful means they mentally construct and settle down on” P18k P25k P100k

all the perfections and all the practice dharmas; and they “do not go forth” because they mentally construct and settle down on the dharmas on the side of awakening and so on, up to

“the knowledge of all aspects.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­659

It also says619 that practicing those same perfections without apprehending all dharmas is named having entered into the training, and not apprehending the knowledge of all aspects, and the dharmas, up to, the emptiness of all dharmas is going forth.

Training in the illusion-like

4.­660

Having thus explained the training in not apprehending all dharmas, to teach training in the illusion-like and so on, it says,620

“Lord, suppose someone were to ask,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. Here this is what venerable Subhūti is thinking: “Lord, if they practice without apprehending anything then there are no dharmas. And were they to go forth having trained in dharmas that do not exist, well then, even a totally nonexistent illusory person acting out an illusion with illusory attention that cannot be apprehended would, having trained, go forth and accomplish the knowledge of all aspects.”

4.­661

Then, in the first section explaining illusion, the Lord says: Just as there is no training in, or going forth to, illusory dharmas, similarly for bodhisattvas [F.108.b] there is no training in the dharmas, form and so on, or going forth to them, or definitely reaching the knowledge of all aspects. To teach that they are like an illusion he asks,621

“Subhūti, what do you think about this: Is illusion one thing and form another?” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. And to teach that bodhisattvas skilled in the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature, who see that all dharmas cannot be apprehended, do not see falsely imagined dharmas like form and so on as existing apart from being illusions, there is the passage that ends,622

“Illusion is not one thing, Lord, and the knowledge of all aspects another; the knowledge of all aspects is itself illusion, Lord, and illusion is itself the knowledge of all aspects.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­662

It is saying that because all are in their intrinsic nature falsely imagined, they are, as the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature, undifferentiable from illusions.

4.­663

Similarly, the second section explaining illusion says that because623

“production… stopping… defilement and purification” P18k P25k P100k

do not exist there is no training in all illusions and dharmas that absolutely do not exist, no going forth, and no reaching the knowledge of all aspects.

4.­664

Then it teaches624 that if the name bodhisattva is not said relative to the aggregates and so on, up to the distinct attributes, in that case, just like an illusory person, a bodhisattva does not exist; and because there is no production, stopping, and so on of the dharmas‍—from the aggregates and so on, up to the distinct attributes‍—they too, like illusions, do not exist, and names, conventional terms, and so on do not exist either, so how can totally nonexistent bodhisattvas train in totally nonexistent dharmas? How can they go forth, and how can they reach [F.109.a] the knowledge of all aspects? Then in conclusion it says that when they

“train… like that, by way of not apprehending anything, they go forth to the knowledge of all aspects and reach the knowledge of all aspects.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­665

Thus, because of the nonexistence that is their intrinsic nature, those five aggregates are like a dream… an echo… an apparition… a reflection in a mirror… a magical creation… and a mirage,625 and because of just that the six sense fields are too, so a “bodhisattva” does not exist at all, because of the emptiness that is the nonexistence of its intrinsic nature.

Training in skillful means

4.­666

Having thus taught the training in the illusion-like and so on, to set the scene for training in skillful means it says,626

“Lord, if bodhisattva great beings who have newly set out in the vehicle were to hear this exposition would they not tremble, feel frightened, and become terrified?” P18k P25k P100k

4.­667

And then it explains that627

“those without skillful means who have not been taken in hand by a spiritual friend, they will tremble, feel frightened, and become terrified, but those with skillful means will not tremble and become terrified.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­668

And it says,628

“Lord, what skillful means do bodhisattva great beings who have newly set out in the vehicle have not to tremble, feel frightened, and become terrified when they hear this exposition?” P18k P25k P100k

Thus, it gives an exposition of skillful means.

I have explained the meaning of “tremble, feel frightened” and so on before.629

4.­669

Those skillful means are also explained in four parts:

skillful means of the analytic understanding of all dharmas,

skillful means of completing the six perfections,

skillful means of relying on a spiritual friend, and

skillful means of shunning a bad friend.

4.­670

Among these, starting from630

“[they] analytically understand about form its impermanent aspect, but do not apprehend it,” P18k P25k P100k

up to

“you should know that this is the skillful means of bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom,” [F.109.b] P18k P25k P100k

teaches the skillful means of the analytic understanding of all dharmas.

4.­671

Starting from,631

“Furthermore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom with attention connected with the knowledge of all aspects,” P18k P25k P100k

up to

“Subhūti, you should know that this is the skillful means of bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom,” P18k P25k P100k

teaches the skillful means of completing the six perfections. Among them, giving expositions of Dharma by way of not apprehending anything is the perfection of giving; stopping śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha thoughts by way of not apprehending anything is the perfection of morality; forbearance and admiration for the deep dharmas is the perfection of patience; paying attention to not apprehending anything and not giving up analytic understanding is the perfection of perseverance; not providing an opportunity for unwholesome dharmas that are impediments to awakening is the perfection of concentration; and the analytic understanding of emptiness is the perfection of wisdom.

4.­672

“Form is not empty because of the emptiness of form”632‍— P18k P25k P100k

the true dharmic nature of “form” does “not” become “empty” out of thin air “because of” being caused by “the emptiness of” falsely imagined “form,” because it is empty of an intrinsic nature. Therefore, it says

“form is itself emptiness, emptiness is itself form.” P18k P25k P100k

This means emptiness and the true dharmic nature of form are the same intrinsic nature.

4.­673

Starting from,633

“Subhūti, the spiritual friends of bodhisattva great beings,” P18k P25k P100k

up to

“they, Subhūti, are the spiritual friends of bodhisattva great beings. If they have taken them in hand they do not tremble, feel frightened, or become terrified when they hear this exposition,” P18k P25k P100k

teaches the skillful means of relying on a spiritual friend.

4.­674

After that, [F.110.a] the section of the text on false projections when apprehending things634 is included right with this, because it happens due to not having spiritual friends.

4.­675

Starting from,635

“How should you know you have been taken in hand by spiritual friends?” P18k P25k P100k

up to,636

“Subhūti, they should know [that] is a bad friend of a bodhisattva great being, and knowing that, should shun them,” P18k P25k P100k

teaches the skillful means of shunning a bad friend.

[B10]

Specific instruction for coming to an authoritative conclusion about this exposition

Part One: The twenty-eight [or twenty-nine] questions

4.­676

Having thus differentiated and taught the passages to do with the inquiry into the endeavor’s many aspects, now the passages to do with the inquiry into specific instruction for coming to an authoritative conclusion about this exposition637 will be explained.

4.­677

There, the initial statement,638

“Here, Śāriputra, bodhisattva great beings who want to fully awaken to all dharmas in all forms should make an effort at the perfection of wisdom,” P18k P25k

which set the scene for the initial brief exegesis, now sets the scene here too. The specific instruction for coming to an authoritative conclusion, furthermore, is twofold: about the meaning of the words and about the characteristic marks.639 In it there are twenty-eight questions:640

4.­678

What is the meaning of the word bodhisattva?

What is the meaning of the term great being?

How are they armed with great armor?

How have they set out in the Great Vehicle?

How do they stand in the Great Vehicle?

How is it a great vehicle?

How have they come to set out in the Great Vehicle?

From where will the Great Vehicle go forth?

Where will that Great Vehicle stand?

Who will go forth in this vehicle?

It surpasses the world with its gods, humans, and asuras and goes forth. Is that why it is called a great vehicle?641

That vehicle is equal to space?

The Great Vehicle is in harmony with the perfection of wisdom?642

Why does one not apprehend a bodhisattva at the prior limit, the later limit, [F.110.b] and in the middle?

Why does one have to know the limitlessness of a bodhisattva through the limitlessness of form, feeling, perception, volitional factors, and consciousness?

Why does even such an idea as “a bodhisattva is form, feeling, perception, volitional factors, and consciousness” not exist and why is it not found?

I, who thus do not see and do not find a bodhisattva great being as anyone at all in any way at all‍—to which bodhisattva great being will I give advice and instruction in which perfection of wisdom?

One says this, Lord, that is, “bodhisattva.” Is it just a word?

One says “self” again and again but it has absolutely not come into being?

Given that all dharmas thus have nonexistence for their intrinsic nature, what is that form, up to what is that consciousness?

Form has not come into being?

Does what has not come into being give advice and instruction in a perfection of wisdom that has not come into being?

You cannot apprehend a bodhisattva other than one who has not come into being?

One should know that when the mind of a bodhisattva great being given such instruction is not cowed, does not tense up, and does not experience regret, does not tremble, feel frightened, or become terrified, then that bodhisattva great being is practicing the perfection of wisdom?

What is a bodhisattva?

What is the perfection of wisdom?

What is it to investigate?

The nonproduction of form and so on is not form and so on?

A decrease in form and so on [F.111.a] is not form and so on?

Anything called “form” and so on is counted as not two?

4.­679

Thus the topics that emerge from those twenty-eight questions,643 and then the section of the text incorporating the hum of probing questions and responses by the two elders Śāriputra and Subhūti that goes up to the beginning of the Śakra Chapter,644 should be known as the specific instruction for coming to an authoritative conclusion.

1a. What is the meaning of the word bodhisattva?

4.­680

There, where it says,645

“Subhūti, the meaning of the word bodhisattva is an absence of a basis in reality,” P18k P25k P100k

bodhisattva has four ultimate meanings: awakening, a being,646 the conventional bodhisattva constituted out of aggregates, and the ultimate bodhisattva. Because all four are the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature, the meaning of the word bodhisattva is “an absence of a basis in reality.” Construe “absence of a basis in reality” as an impossibility.

4.­681

Were bodhisattva to have something real for its nature, the word for it would have a basis in reality and it would become a possibility, whereas awakening, a being, and both bodhisattvas do not exist, so the meaning of the word bodhisattva is the absence of a basis in reality, that is to say, an “impossibility.”

4.­682

To separate the parts of this same topic it says,

“Subhūti, it is because bodhi and sattva are not produced. Awakening and a being do not have an arising or an existence. They cannot be apprehended.” P18k P25k P100k

Awakening does not arise because it is an uncompounded phenomenon, and because a being does not exist it does not arise either. Therefore it should be construed as: “Subhūti, awakening does not have an arising” and “a being does not have an existence that can be apprehended.”

4.­683

Then, to explain the locution “meaning of the word” it says,

“Subhūti, awakening has no basis in reality and a being has no basis in reality.” [F.111.b] P18k P25k P100k

And it sums up in conclusion with,

“Therefore, a bodhisattva’s basis in reality is an absence of a basis in reality.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­684

Then, to teach that the meaning of the word bodhisattva is an absence of a basis in reality it gives an elevenfold explanation:647

4.­685

“To illustrate, Subhūti, the track of a bird in space does not exist and cannot be apprehended,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on: that

awakening does not have a basis in a reality constructed in thought;

the basis of a falsely imagined “heroic being”648 does not exist at all;

a basis other and separate from awakening does not exist;

a basis separate from a conventional bodhisattva does not exist;

a basis of the true dharmic nature of a bodhisattva does not exist;

a basis for a heroic being does not exist in awakening;

a basis for awakening does not exist in a heroic being;

a basis in reality for “awakening” does not exist;

the meaning of the word for the true dharmic nature of a “bodhisattva” does not exist in a falsely imagined bodhisattva;

the meaning of the word for the falsely imagined “bodhisattva” does not exist in an unreal bodhisattva; and

a basis for an ultimate bodhisattva does not exist.

4.­686

Among these, to teach that awakening does not have a basis in a reality constructed in thought it says,

“To illustrate, Subhūti, the track of a bird in space does not exist and cannot be apprehended,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. This means that just as birds go through the sky but their tracks are not left there, similarly thought constructions move through awakening that is constituted out of suchness but do not remain there.

4.­687

Then to teach that the basis of a falsely imagined bodhisattva does not exist in reality it says,

4.­688

“To illustrate, Subhūti, in a dream a basis does not exist and cannot be apprehended,” P18k P25k P100k

4.­689

and so on. This means that a dream, an illusion, a mirage, an echo, an apparition, a reflection in a mirror, and a magical creation have no basis in reality because they are totally nonexistent. [F.112.a] Similarly, bodhisattvas also have no basis in reality because they too do not exist.

4.­690

Then to teach that a basis other than awakening does not exist it says,

“To illustrate further, Subhūti, in suchness a basis does not exist and cannot be apprehended,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. This means that just as there is no basis other than suchness, unmistaken suchness, and so on, similarly there is no basis other than awakening.

4.­691

Then to teach that a basis of a conventional bodhisattva does not exist it says,

“To illustrate further, Subhūti, in an illusory person a basis of form, feeling, perception, volitional factors, and consciousness does not exist and cannot be apprehended,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. This means that just as people who are illusory in nature do not have five aggregates and so on, because they are totally nonexistent, similarly conventional bodhisattvas also do not have a five-aggregate basis.649

4.­692

Then to teach that the true dharmic nature of a bodhisattva does not have five aggregates and so on it says,

4.­693

“To illustrate, Subhūti, a basis of the form, feeling, perception, volitional factors, and consciousness of a tathāgata, worthy one, perfect complete buddha does not exist and cannot be apprehended.” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. This means that just as a dharma body tathāgata does not have five aggregates and so on, similarly an ultimate bodhisattva does not have five aggregates and so on either.

4.­694

Then to teach that a basis for a heroic being650 does not exist in awakening it says,651

“To illustrate further, Subhūti, in the uncompounded element a basis of the compounded element does not exist,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. This means that just as saṃsāra does not exist in nirvāṇa, similarly a basis for a heroic being does not exist in awakening.

4.­695

Then to teach that a basis for awakening does not exist in a heroic being it says

“in the compounded element [F.112.b] a basis of the uncompounded element does not exist,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. This means that just as nirvāṇa does not exist in saṃsāra, similarly a basis for a heroic being does not exist in awakening.652

4.­696

Then to teach that a meaning of the word653 awakening does not exist it says,654

“To illustrate, Subhūti, in the absence of production… the absence of stopping, the absence of occasioning anything, the absence of appearing, the absence of being apprehended, the absence of defilement, and the absence of purification a basis in reality does not exist,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. This means that just as in the absence of production and so on a basis in reality does not exist, similarly a basis for a bodhisattva also does not exist in reality.

4.­697

Then to teach that the meaning of the word for the true dharmic nature of a bodhisattva does not exist in a falsely imagined bodhisattva it says,655

“To illustrate further, Subhūti, in form a basis in reality for the absence of production, the absence of stopping, the absence of occasioning anything, the absence of appearing, the absence of being apprehended, the absence of defilement, and the absence of purification does not exist,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. This means that just as the meanings of the words for uncompounded phenomena like nonproduction and so on do not exist in the meanings of the words for the five aggregates and so on, similarly the true dharmic nature of a bodhisattva does not exist in a falsely imagined bodhisattva constituted out of the five imaginary aggregates and so on.

4.­698

Then to teach that the meaning of the word for the falsely imagined bodhisattva does not exist in an ultimate656 bodhisattva it says,

“To illustrate further, Subhūti, in the state of the absolute purity of form a basis for a causal sign does not exist,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. This means: Just as the bases for the causal signs of compounded phenomena do not exist in the absolute purity of the dharma-constituent of the five aggregates, form and so on, [and of the constituents] and so on. And,657

4.­699

“To illustrate further, Subhūti, just as in the state of the absolute purity of the self and so on a basis for a causal sign does not exist,” P18k P25k P100k

and just as a basis for darkness does not exist in the sun, [F.113.a] a basis for compounded phenomena does not exist in the eon conflagration, and in a tathāgata’s morality, meditative stabilization, wisdom, liberation, and knowledge and seeing of liberation, the bases for their opposing sides do not exist, similarly, “the falsely imagined bodhisattva” constituted out of the five aggregates does not exist in “the ultimate bodhisattva” constituted out of the dharma-constituent.

4.­700

Then to teach that an ultimate bodhisattva constituted out of the dharma-constituent does not stand anywhere, with,658

“To illustrate further, Subhūti, in the radiance of the sun and moon a basis does not exist,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, it teaches that a basis does not exist. Thus,

4.­701

“To illustrate further, the light of the sun, moon, planets, stars, jewels, and lightning”;659 P18k P25k P100k

the light of the gods living in the desire realm, the light of the Brahmā and Śuddhāvāsa gods living in the form realm; and

“the light of a tathāgata” P18k P25k P100k

do not stand anywhere because they are all just simply light means that similarly an ultimate bodhisattva without standing anywhere moves through states of existence.

4.­702

Having thus given an elevenfold explanation that the meaning of the word bodhisattva is an absence of a basis, then it says that the reason a basis does not exist is660

“because, Subhūti, all those phenomena‍—that which is awakening, that which is the bodhisattva, that which is the basis in reality of a bodhisattva‍—are not conjoined, are not disjoined,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. These are in the sense of “that awakening” on account of “which” those awakening heroic beings making an effort at awakening are exerting themselves; or, alternatively, the “awakening” on account of “which” they get the name “awakening heroic beings”; or “that which is an awakening,” or “that which is the meaning of the name bodhisattva”; or those that are the form, feeling, perception, [F.113.b] volitional factors, and consciousness and so on of a falsely imagined “bodhisattva”; or that which is the true dharmic nature of a bodhisattva, the dharma-constituent. “All those phenomena”‍—“the awakening” the uncompounded phenomena; “the bodhisattva” the compounded phenomena such as the aggregates, sense fields, constituents, dependent origination and so on; and “the basis in reality” that is the bodhisattva as the true nature of dharmas, the dharma-constituent‍—“are not conjoined” because in the true dharmic nature state they do not have the nature of defilement, and “are not disjoined” because they are also not marked by purification.

4.­703

They

“cannot by analyzed”661 P18k P25k P100k

because without thought construction there is no analysis. This teaches that the mark of a grasper does not exist. They

“cannot be pointed out” P18k P25k P100k

because they are inexpressible and hence not suitable to be taught and understood by others through words. Both teach that the mark of a grasper does not exist and the mark of a grasped does not exist. They

“do not obstruct” P18k P25k P100k

because the mark of obstructing like the objects of the senses does not exist. Thus they

“have only one mark‍—that is, no mark,” P18k P25k P100k

which means that which is separated from all marks is marked by no mark.

4.­704

“Should train in nonattachment and in the nonexistence”662‍— P18k P25k P100k

because of an attachment to awakening, or because of grasping at awakening as a real thing, they are called “awakening heroic beings.” So this means that in order to turn back those two conceptualizations they should train in all phenomena marked by nonattachment and marked as unreal things.

4.­705

“By not constructing any phenomena and not entertaining any ideas about them”663‍— P18k P25k P100k

if they construct them, with conceptualization as a cause, an awareness of existence arises, and if they entertain any ideas about them, with faith as a cause, attachment arises, so put it together as: by “not constructing” them they do not become existent, and by “not entertaining ideas” attachment does not arise.

4.­706

“They should know all phenomena in a nondual way” [F.114.a] P18k P25k P100k

means they are free from the sense of duality in subject and object, expression and thing to be expressed, production and cessation, existent thing and nonexistent thing, dharma and not dharma, compounded and uncompounded, ordinary and extraordinary, and so on.

1b. What is the meaning of the term great being?

4.­707

Having thus taught the meaning of the word bodhisattva, to teach the meaning of the term great being it asks,664

“Lord, you say ‘bodhisattva great beings.’ Why do you say ‘bodhisattva great beings’?” P18k P25k P100k

4.­708

It means why do you say “great being” about a bodhisattva; why do you use the name “great being”? Of the fourfold intention of the Lord, and the elders Śāriputra, Subhūti, and Pūrṇa, first of all it teaches the Lord’s intention that they are called “great heroic beings” because among beings they are the great heroic beings. Just because of that it says665

“they will become the foremost of a great mass of beings, a great collection of groups of beings.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­709

The elder Śāriputra’s intention is that they are called “great heroic beings” because they realize the fact that all phenomena are nonexistent things, that they do not exist. Having seen that the names of all phenomena are nonexistent, they also demonstrate that Dharma to others to eliminate conceptualizations‍—views like666

“the view of a self” P18k P25k P100k

and so on; the extreme

“view of annihilation” P18k P25k P100k

and so on;

“the view of aggregates” P18k P25k P100k

and so on; up to, at the end,

“the view of complete nirvāṇa.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­710

The elder Subhūti’s intention667 is that these bodhisattvas called “great”668 are called “great beings” because they have greater nonattachment and nonrepugnance. Just because of that he teaches that they are

“unattached even to that thought” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, and hence they stand without attachment to that. [F.114.b]

4.­711

The elder Pūrṇa’s intention is that they are “great beings” because they are armed with great armor, and have entered into a great practice and a great result. Just because of that it teaches that they669

“are armed with great armor… have set out in a great vehicle, and… have mounted on a great vehicle.” P18k P25k P100k

The Lord’s intention

4.­712

Among these, first is the Lord’s explanation.

“Great mass of beings”‍— P18k P25k P100k

it says “great mass of beings” based on the qualities of those from670

“the Gotra level” P18k P25k P100k

up to

“pratyekabuddhas.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­713

“Many groups of beings”671‍— P18k P25k P100k

it says groups of bodhisattvas because they are foremost, because of their greater intention and greater practice. Their greater intention is their

“vajra-like” P18k P25k P100k

production of the thought adorned with five qualities; it is (1) conquering, (2) precious, (3) faultless, (4) not split, and (5) accomplishes the aim.

Among these, conquering is conquering through the power of wisdom with eight qualities.

4.­714

Because it conquers miserliness and so on, it is a thought to

“give away all my personal possessions.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­715

Because it conquers greed and hatred and so on, it is

“the same attitude of mind.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­716

Because it conquers all wrong views, it is a thought to

“lead beings to nirvāṇa by means of the three vehicles.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­717

Because it does not perceive leading beings to nirvāṇa and has conquered all dharmas, it is the thought,

“I must understand that… all phenomena are not produced and do not stop.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­718

Because it has conquered the deficient vehicle, it is

“the unmixed thought of the knowledge of all aspects.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­719

Because it has conquered all bad forms of life, it is

“the all-pervasive, thoroughly established realization of dharmas,” P18k P25k P100k

which is to say, the realization of suchness in its all-pervasive sense on the first level.

4.­720

Because it has conquered [F.115.a] all thought constructions to do with the cycles of existence, it is the thought,672

“I must awaken to finding and producing within myself all dharmas, from the aggregates, up to the perfections, in accord with one principle,” P18k P25k P100k

which is to say it realizes all dharmas‍—the aggregates, constituents, sense fields, dependent origination, and perfections‍—in accord with the principle of emptiness.

4.­721

And because it has conquered all thought constructions to do with purification, it is the awakening to the consummation of

“the dharmas on the side of awakening, the immeasurables,” P25k

and so on, up to, at the end,

“the distinct attributes of a buddha,” P25k

which is to say it is an awakening to completing the meditation on those.

4.­722

Having thus taught the eight good qualities of wisdom, to teach that the great power of compassion in that thought is precious, it says,673

“I must, even for the sake of one being,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­723

To teach that that precious thought is faultless, it says it is674

4.­724

“a prodigious thought,” P18k P25k P100k

without the faults of a

“greedy… hateful… confused… violent… [or] śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha thought.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­725

“That, Subhūti, is the bodhisattva great beings’ prodigious thought on account of which they become the foremost of all beings, but without falsely projecting anything.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­726

About that vajra-like thought not being split, it says675

“that their attention connected with the knowledge of all aspects does not falsely project anything” P18k P25k P100k

because the opposing side, the Māras and so on, cannot split it.

4.­727

In regard to its accomplishing the aim and being like a precious jewel, it says they

“should think to be of benefit and bring happiness.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­728

Having thus taught that the bodhisattvas have a greater intention, to teach that they have a greater practice in a threefold explanation it says they should stand in676

“a delight in Dharma… should stand in emptiness… and should abide in meditative stabilization.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­729

Take

“the unbroken unity of all dharmas”677 P18k P25k P100k

as the dharma body, because all those bright dharmas are without difference.

Śāriputra’s intention

4.­730

Now it teaches the elder Śāriputra’s intention.

4.­731

“Eliminate the view of a self,”678 P18k P25k P100k

and so on, teaches the selflessness of persons.

4.­732

“Eliminate the view of aggregates,” [F.115.b] P18k P25k P100k

and so on, teaches the selflessness of dharmas.

4.­733

“Apprehend form, and by way of apprehending it produce a view about it”679‍— P18k P25k P100k

apprehending the form aggregate and so on is the cause that produces conceptualization.

Subhūti’s intention

4.­734

The elder Subhūti’s confidence and readiness to explain is demonstrated with,680

“That thought is no thought and because it is no thought it is unattached even to that.” P18k P25k

The ultimate, true dharmic nature of thought is “no thought” because it is separated from all the marks of falsely imagined thought. Therefore, “the thought” of awakening “is unattached to that,” the falsely imagined thought.

4.­735

“Venerable Subhūti, what is the thought that is equal to the unequaled, a thought not shared in common with any śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas?” P18k P25k P100k

He is asking about the mark of the thought of awakening.

4.­736

“Venerable Śāriputra, here after the production of the first thought of awakening,”681 P18k P25k P100k

and so on, teaches the mark of the ultimate thought. The nonconceptual mind from the Pramuditā level on up is called “the thought of awakening.”

4.­737

“They do not see either the production or stopping of any dharma at all”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because it realizes suchness in its omnipresent sense and so on, the fundamentally transformed mind is space-like and sees all phenomena as space-like. Regarding this comparison to space, even though production and cessation appear in compounded phenomena, in walls and so on, that stand together with it, space has no production and cessation. It does not increase or decrease even when it is covered by or not separated from clouds and so on. Even though the rocks and trees that are together with it come and go, space itself does not come and go; even though fog, haze, smoke and so on are there and then not there, it does not become defiled [F.116.a] and does not become purified either. It is the same with all phenomena. They are ultimately thoroughly established, with

“no production, no stopping, no decrease, no increase, no coming, no going, no defilement, and no purification.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­738

But during the falsely imagined period those phenomena that are like illusions appear as if they have production and so on. The mind that realizes that is called682

“the thought equal to the unequaled, a thought not shared in common.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­739

With

“Venerable Subhūti, you said,”683 P18k P25k P100k

and so on, the elder Śāriputra teaches that it is not only to just that that they are unattached, but the mark of nonattachment pervades all phenomena as well. It explains this with,

“Venerable Subhūti, would not form, then, also be unattached?” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­740

“That thought… is without outflows and does not belong”684‍— P18k P25k P100k

this also teaches that all dharmas are pervaded by the mark of nonattachment.

4.­741

“No-form also is unattached to form.”685 P18k P25k P100k

Construe this as: Just as it said that the thoroughly established thought is “no-thought” because it is separated from the mark of falsely imagined thought, similarly the true dharmic nature of form is called “no-form” because it is separated from the mark of falsely imagined form. That intrinsic nature, the true nature of dharmas, that is “no-form” is “unattached” to falsely imagined form, and the true nature of dharmas that is not the unreal feeling is also unattached to falsely imagined feeling.

1c. How are they armed with great armor?

Pūrṇa’s intention

4.­742

The elder Pūrṇa’s explanation is that they686

“are armed with great armor” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, teaching that from the first thought on, their intention is vast. They

“have set out in a Great Vehicle” P18k P25k P100k

teaches the stage from the devoted course of conduct level up to the seventh level where practice operates together with effort and together with thought construction. [F.116.b] They

“have mounted on a Great Vehicle” P18k P25k P100k

teaches from the eighth level on up, where it is the ultimate practice.

4.­743

There, being armed with armor is explained in two parts: the vast intention to work hard for the welfare of all beings, and the vast practice that fully completes all practices in a single practice.

4.­744

Among them, the vast intention is taught from where it says they687

“do not practice for awakening for a partial number of beings,” P18k P25k P100k

and ‘I have to establish all beings in those perfections,’ up to,

“Venerable Śāriputra, they are therefore said to be ‘armed with great armor.’ ”688 P25k P100k

4.­745

The explanation of the vast practice is from689

“furthermore, Venerable Śāriputra, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom give a gift,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, up to where each of the six perfections is connected with the others so that the buddhas standing in the ten directions also

“cry out cries of delight and proclaim the name.”690 P18k P25k

4.­746

“Not… for a partial number of beings” P18k P25k P100k

means “an object has not been carved out,”691 so the vast intention is explained in terms of these three: an object has not been carved out, a being has not been carved out, and a practice has not been carved out.

4.­747

From the vast practice, the practice of the perfection of giving692

“is the perfection of giving armor.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­748

The basic693 giving of material things is the perfection of giving. It is called “perfection of giving armor” because it has been

“made… into something shared in common by all beings” P18k P25k P100k

and dedicated

“to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening” P18k P25k P100k

and the welfare of all beings.

4.­749

Similarly, the giving of material things is the perfection of giving, and when it is practiced694

“with attention not connected with śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas… [F.117.a] it is perfection of morality armor” P18k P25k P100k

because, having produced the thought of perfect, complete awakening and taken the vow, giving it up is contrary to morality.

4.­750

Similarly, the giving of material things is the perfection of giving. Working hard at that, the

“forbearance for” P18k P25k P100k

definitive meditation on

“phenomena,” P18k P25k P100k

the reality of patience when paying attention to a gift, a giver, and a recipient that cannot be apprehended is

“the perfection of patience armor.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­751

Similarly, when giving gifts, the intensification of perseverance at giving dedicated to the welfare of all beings is

“the perfection of perseverance armor.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­752

Similarly, when giving gifts, be it during the period of giving or during the period of dedication, a mind one-pointedly focused on attention to the knowledge of all aspects is

“the perfection of concentration armor.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­753

“Have only that as their focus”695 P18k P25k P100k

means it has only the knowledge of all aspects as its focus.

4.­754

Similarly, when giving gifts, paying attention to not stopping attention to things being like illusions and so on, and attention to the absence of thought constructions‍—paying attention to not forsaking the conventional dedication to awakening and not forsaking the ultimate practice that cannot be apprehended‍—is

“perfection of wisdom armor.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­755

Similarly, when giving gifts, still wanting to fulfill the six perfections through attention to the practice of not apprehending anything, also not apprehending the causal signs of giving, morality, patience, perseverance, concentration and wisdom; having set out to make that into something shared in common, not apprehending the causal sign even of that; and dedicating it to perfect, complete awakening but not apprehending the causal sign even of awakening‍—this attention to not apprehending the causal signs of all dharmas is

“the six perfections armor,”696 P25k P100k

because it has been aided [F.117.b] by the six ultimate perfections. In order to teach just those six ultimate perfections each has been taught separately.

4.­756

Furthermore, when bodhisattvas guard morality, and, because it will be in accord with that morality, give gifts, and with an intention in accord with that morality make it into something shared in common and dedicate it to awakening, that practice of the perfection of morality is called697

“giving armor.” P25k

4.­757

Similarly, connect “doing the giving and so on with an intention in accord with patience, and because it will be in accord with perseverance, and because it will be in accord with concentration” with them all. Connect “being in accord with eliminating such opposing-side afflictions as miserliness, immorality, animosity” and so on with all the perfections as well.698

2. How have they set out in the Great Vehicle?699

4.­758

To pose the second question, it says,700

“Venerable Pūrṇa, to what extent have bodhisattva great beings set out in a great vehicle, and what is the bodhisattva great beings’ Great Vehicle?” P18k P25k P100k

4.­759

Having said that, elder Pūrṇa, having taught a tenfold great vehicle and setting out in a great vehicle tenfold, then says701

“in that way… [they] have set out in the Great Vehicle.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­760

There,702 having first taught that when they meditate on the four form concentrations, the four immeasurables, the four formless absorptions, and those twelve dharmas703 and the six perfections it is a great vehicle, and when they704

“pay attention to the attributes, tokens, and signs” P18k P25k P100k

of those, make them into something shared in common, and grow them into awakening that they have set out in the Great Vehicle, [F.118.a] it sums up in conclusion with,705

“That, Venerable Śāriputra, is the bodhisattva great beings’ Great Vehicle, and in that way bodhisattva great beings have set out in the Great Vehicle.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­761

Then, the second also teaches them,706 in order to teach that when those same six perfections and those twelve have been made complete it is the Great Vehicle, and that those working hard at those as explained in the Sūtra are those who have set out. Thus it says,707

“That, Venerable Śāriputra, is the bodhisattva great beings’ Great Vehicle that is the six perfections, and in that way bodhisattva great beings have set out in the Great Vehicle.” P18k P25k

4.­762

Take the “giving” here as the gift of the dharmas, so, again, when meditated on in all their aspects, the dharmas from the applications of mindfulness, up to, at the end,

“the distinct attributes of a buddha” P18k P25k P100k

are the Great Vehicle. And again, the third is that those working hard at meditating on them in all their aspects have set out in the Great Vehicle, thus it again says,708

“That, Venerable Śāriputra, is the bodhisattva great beings’ Great Vehicle, and in that way bodhisattva great beings have set out in the Great Vehicle.” P18k P25k

4.­763

Then the fourth is where it says709 the two‍—meditation on the immeasurables and the six perfections‍—is the Great Vehicle and those working hard at those as explained in the Sūtra are those who have set out.

4.­764

Then the fifth is where it says710 the sixteen emptinesses are the Great Vehicle and those who pay attention to them without apprehending them are those who have set out.

4.­765

Then the sixth is where it says711 unscattered meditative equipoises are the Great Vehicle and those who know them are those who have set out. [F.118.b] This means that when abiding in apprehending scattering and meditative stabilization together with causal signs, not signlessness, abiding without thought construction is always meditative equipoise.

4.­766

Then the seventh is where it says712 the nondual true nature of dharmas is the Great Vehicle and those who neither know nor not know that are those who have set out.

4.­767

Then the eighth is where it says713 the sameness of the three time periods is the Great Vehicle, and those not without knowledge of them and with nonapprehending knowledge are those who have set out.

4.­768

Then the ninth is where it says714 the sameness of the three realms is the Great Vehicle, and those not without knowledge of them and with nonapprehending knowledge are those who have set out.

4.­769

And then the tenth is where it says all dharmas are the Great Vehicle and those who do not apprehend a knower of them are those who have set out. Having completed those, it sums up in conclusion with,715

“That, Venerable Śāriputra, is the bodhisattva great beings’ Great Vehicle, and in that way bodhisattva great beings have set out in the Great Vehicle.” P18k P25k P100k

[B11]

3. How do they stand in the Great Vehicle?

4.­770

Now to pose the third question it says,

“Venerable Pūrṇa, to what extent does a bodhisattva great being stand in716 the Great Vehicle?” P18k P25k P100k

The elder Pūrṇa then gives an exposition of six nonconceptual practices from the eighth level on up.

4.­771

“Venerable Śāriputra, here when bodhisattva great beings are practicing the perfection of wisdom they mount up on717 the perfection of giving,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, teaches the first stage of nonconceptual perfection without thought construction. Nonconceptual meditation on emptiness is the second, nonconceptual meditation on all bright dharmas [F.119.a] the third, all dharmas that cannot be apprehended the fourth, the stage of control the fifth, and complete awakening the sixth.

4.­772

There, the first is they718

“stand in the perfection of giving.” P18k P25k P100k

This means they stand up on a place‍—a maturation without conceptualization‍—that is a perfection beyond the level of conceptual practice. At the eighth level they have arrived at effortless perfections that are maturation results that have come about from having earlier completed, with conceptualization and with effort, the accumulation of merits. They719 have come about in the form of a result so they are nonconceptual. Bodhisattvas accomplish the welfare of beings through those, through the power of skillful means, and through the power of prayer that is a vow.

4.­773

Second, it says they720

“meditate on… emptiness… because of the investigation of the meditation.” P18k P25k P100k

Take “disintegration of the meditation” here as making it empty. What it means is by meditating on disintegration they meditate without apprehending anything. They “meditate” on this, on just this turning it into a nonexistent thing.

The rest are easy to understand.721

4.­774

The elder Pūrṇa having thus demonstrated his confidence and readiness to speak, the elder Subhūti, wanting to understand the Lord’s intention, inquires,722

“Lord, to what extent are bodhisattva great beings armed with great armor?” P18k P25k P100k

Having been asked that, the Lord teaches the ninefold great armor. After that, then the elder Subhūti demonstrates his two723 confidences and readinesses to speak, and there is an explanation in eleven sections of the text.

4.­775

From among those armed with all the armor, the section of the text on extinguishing bad forms of life with maturation-based magical power, together with the section on them being conjured up, is the first;724 the six sections on the six perfections [F.119.b] are the six that are like things that have been conjured up;725 conjuring up establishing beings in the ten directions in the six perfections is the eighth;726 and the vast intention is the ninth.727

4.­776

Then the elder Subhūti, to demonstrate that he has generated a confidence and readiness to speak about that on account of an illusion-like cause, says,728

“The way I understand what you, Lord, have said…” P18k P25k P100k

4.­777

As for,

“Oh! Those bodhisattva great beings should be understood to be armed with no armor,” P18k P25k P100k

this means that because all the armor that has been explained before is falsely imagined, bodhisattva great beings are armed with an armor that has the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature, suchness, for its intrinsic nature. Therefore, he says

“because all dharmas, given the illusory nature of dharmas, are empty of their own mark.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­778

To establish that they are illusory phenomena, it says

“form is empty of form” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. This connects thoroughly established form being empty of falsely imagined form, and thoroughly established feeling being empty of falsely imagined feeling, with “therefore ultimate armor is empty of falsely imagined armor.” Therefore at the end it says729

“great armor is empty of great armor. I understand that bodhisattva great beings are armed with no armor, Lord, through this one of many explanations.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­779

What is the intention where it says,730

“Subhūti, the knowledge of all aspects is not made, is not unmade, and does not occasion anything”? P18k P25k P100k

In this world protective equipment refers to three things: Thinking, “What needs to be done?” you wear protective clothing. To illustrate, you think, “I will build a town” or “I will build a temple.” Thinking, “What should I destroy?” you put on armor. For example, you think, “I will destroy the town” or “I will destroy the temple.” Thinking, “To what [F.120.a] should I give an occasion?” you put on protective equipment. To illustrate, you think, “I will enjoy the town” or “I will clean the town.” It is similar with the knowledge of all aspects as well. Someone may have become armed with great armor for the purpose of the knowledge of all aspects that is made, or destroyed, or given an occasion like that. But the knowledge of all aspects is not made, is not unmade, and does not occasion anything, so it is not correct to become armed with great armor for that purpose. The intention, therefore, is that they are correct to think they are

“armed with no armor.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­780

Just because of that it says,731

“Subhūti, given that you cannot apprehend a maker, the knowledge of all aspects is not made, not unmade, and does not occasion anything … Because they absolutely do not exist and absolutely cannot be apprehended.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­781

Also, it says that about732

“suchness,” P18k P25k P100k

because when it is grasped in a falsely imagined form, as “the suchness of form, the suchness of feeling” and so on, in that form it does not exist.

4.­782

Then the elder Subhūti, in order to teach what he is thinking, says,733

“Lord, the way I understand what you have said, Lord,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­783

What is intended where it says

“form is not bound and is not freed”? P18k P25k P100k

Some think that because the five aggregates without outflows are bound with fetters, and so on, they are bound by afflictions and karma, going in cycles from one form of life to another again and again, and later the ones without outflows are freed, at which point they are destroyed. But because of what was intended by “not made” and “not unmade” it says they are

“not bound and are not freed” P18k P25k P100k

4.­784

and so on. This means both being bound and being freed happen when something exists. Thus, form and so on are totally nonexistent things so how could being bound and being freed happen to them, [F.120.b] given that they do not exist? They are not established. Being bound and being freed are taught based on the falsely imagined, but not ultimately. Therefore, it says,734

“Venerable Pūrṇa, because form does not exist, form is not bound and is not freed,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. With they are735

“dream-like” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, it teaches that thoroughly established form is also not bound and is not freed.

4.­785

“Because [they are] isolated, calm, empty” P18k P100k

means they abide, like space, so it is not logical that they are bound and freed.

The rest is easy to understand.

6. How is it a great vehicle?736

4.­786

Having made the great armor stable and complete, the elder Subhūti, taking as his point of departure the statement “have set out in a great vehicle,”737 has posed five questions:738

“Lord, what is the Great Vehicle of bodhisattva great beings?” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­787

There the Lord explains “Great Vehicle” under twenty-one subdivisions. These are:

Great Vehicle of the perfections,

Great Vehicle of all the emptinesses,

Great Vehicle of all the meditative stabilizations,

Great Vehicle of the applications of mindfulness,

Great Vehicle of the right efforts,739

Great Vehicle of the legs of miraculous power,

Great Vehicle of the faculties,

Great Vehicle of the powers,

Great Vehicle of the limbs of awakening,

Great Vehicle of the path,

Great Vehicle of the liberations,

Great Vehicle of the knowledges,

Great Vehicle of the three faculties,

Great Vehicle of the three meditative stabilizations,

Great Vehicle of the mindfulnesses,

Great Vehicle of the five absorptions,740

Great Vehicle of the ten powers,

Great Vehicle of the four fearlessnesses,

Great Vehicle of the four detailed and thorough knowledges,

Great Vehicle of the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha, and

Great Vehicle of the dhāraṇī gateways. [F.121.a]

2. Great Vehicle of all the emptinesses741

4.­788

Among these, in the second section of the text, Great Vehicle of all the emptinesses, it says742

“eyes are empty of eyes because they are neither unmoved nor destroyed.” P18k P25k P100k

Falsely imagined eyes are empty of falsely imagined eyes. “Empty” has the sense of nonexistent so it means a real basis of eyes does not exist in the eyes.743

4.­789

This means were they to be existent you can suppose they would remain there permanently unmoved, or they would be impermanent and destroyed. Thus they do not remain there unmoved and they are not destroyed, so they do not exist because “they are neither unmoved nor destroyed.”

4.­790

“Because that is their basic nature”‍— P18k P25k P100k

the absence of a real basis of eyes in the eyes is their basic nature, which is to say, their intrinsic nature.744

4.­791

The nonexistence of inner and outer dharmas, each separately, are two emptinesses.

4.­792

The emptiness of inner dharmas that grasp outer dharmas, and of outer dharmas that have become objects of inner dharmas, that is, of subjects and objects is the

“emptiness of inner and outer,” P18k P25k P100k

the third emptiness.

4.­793

That which has become

“the emptiness of that emptiness that is the emptiness of all dharmas is the emptiness of emptiness.” P18k P25k P100k

It is called an “emptiness of emptiness” because it is that‍—empty‍—and it is that‍—emptiness‍—as well. So, it is called an “emptiness of emptiness.” Of what is it empty? It is saying it is empty of the emptiness that is the emptiness of all dharmas. What is it teaching? It means there is no other second emptiness in emptiness; it is “empty” just from its nature.

4.­794

“The eastern direction is empty of the eastern direction”; P18k P25k P100k

it is called a

“great emptiness,” P18k P25k P100k

in the sense that “it pervades all directions” because the emptiness of things that are huge is greater.

4.­795

“Nirvāṇa is also empty of nirvāṇa because it is neither unmoved nor destroyed.”745 P18k P25k P100k

It is empty of the basic nature of ultimate nirvāṇa.746 But is nirvāṇa not taken to be “unmoved”? [F.121.b] The system of some thinkers in the Śrāvaka Vehicle is like that, but in “ultimate reality” there is no dharma called “nirvāṇa.”747

4.­796

“The compounded” P18k P25k P100k

is the three realms.

It says this because all compounded things are included in the three realms.

4.­797

“What has no production, no stopping, no destruction, no lasting, and no changing into something else”748‍— P18k P25k P100k

the arising of dharmas is “production,” cutting the stream is “stopping,” moment by moment perishing is “destruction,” not cutting the stream of a continuum is “lasting,” and the earlier and later distinction in a continuum is “changing into something else.” The dharmas in which these are absent are the

“uncompounded,” P18k P25k P100k

which is to say space, suchness, and the two cessations. Those phenomena that are uncompounded do not exist as real bases, hence

“the emptiness of the uncompounded.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­798

Since it is enough just to teach “it is the extreme749 of annihilation and it is the extreme of permanence,” the extremes of an existent thing and a nonexistent thing, dharma and nondharma, existence and nonexistence, and so on are included in just that.

4.­799

As for

“that of which a beginning and an end are not found has no middle,”750 P18k P25k P100k

and so on‍—in

“no beginning and end,” P18k P25k P100k

take “a beginning” as the past and take “an end” as the future; alternatively, take “a beginning” as former and “an end” as later. Because both extremes do not exist, a “middle” does not exist either. Hence the emptiness of no beginning, no end, and no middle is

“the emptiness of no beginning and no end.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­800

Alternatively, just no beginning, no end, and no middle are empty of a beginning, end, and middle, hence “the emptiness of no beginning and no end.”

4.­801

“The emptiness of nonrepudiation”‍— P18k P25k P100k

this means emptiness is not751 posited like a pitcher becoming empty when you tip out and get rid of the water it had before‍—[F.122.a] that you later reject and throw away some ultimately real material that was there before. The nonexistence of dharmas in their intrinsic nature is “emptiness.” There,

“nonrepudiation is empty of nonrepudiation” P18k P25k P100k

means an attribute, nonrepudiation, does not exist at all.

4.­802

“The emptiness of a basic nature”‍— P18k P25k P100k

that true nature of dharmas, which is emptiness,

“the basic nature of… the compounded or uncompounded,” P18k P25k P100k

is not fabricated by anyone,

“is not made by śrāvakas… pratyekabuddhas… or tathāgatas,” P18k P25k P100k

hence it is called “basic nature.” That basic nature of all attributes is also empty of a basic nature, in the sense that when that which possesses an attribute exists its basic nature is established; and if just such a possessor of an attribute does not exist, of what would it be suitable to say it is its basic nature?752 Therefore, it says

“a basic nature is empty of a basic nature.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­803

“All dharmas are empty of all dharmas”753 P18k P25k P100k

means ultimately all dharmas do not have the intrinsic nature of all dharmas.

4.­804

“The emptiness of its own mark”‍— P18k P25k P100k

this means that if dharmas are nonexistent, of what would those be the specific marks?754 Therefore, because dharmas are simply just falsely imagined, these marks also are falsely imagined and hence do not exist.

4.­805

“The emptiness of not apprehending”‍— P18k P25k P100k

those

“dharmas”755 P18k P25k P100k

included in the three times that do not exist in the three times

“cannot be apprehended.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­806

That

“not apprehending is empty of not apprehending” P18k P25k P100k

in the sense that some other attribute‍—“not apprehending”‍—does not exist anywhere at all.

4.­807

“The emptiness of the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature”‍—756 P18k P25k P100k

this has two explanations. There the first explanation is,757

“Subhūti, the intrinsic nature of a phenomenon that has arisen from a union does not exist.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­808

What is this teaching? Here, when all phenomena are produced, they are not produced [F.122.b] solely through their own power; they are produced through the power of causes and conditions. To illustrate, when a seed produces a seedling, it does not produce it solely through its own force; it is produced through the force of a union with soil, water, and so on. Similarly, all phenomena are produced from a complex of causes and conditions. They are not produced solely thought their own force, so they are just dependent originations. Even though those phenomena produced in dependence on other phenomena have the nature of being seeable, an experience, and so on, still, insofar as they are produced just from the complex of causes and conditions, it is said they have “arisen from a union.” And how can you say of something that has arisen from a union that it is its “intrinsic nature”? Therefore, all phenomena arise because of some other existent thing, an existence of its own does not exist, so, because their intrinsic nature does not exist, therefore it says “nonexistence of an intrinsic nature.” And so it says,

“Subhūti, the intrinsic nature of a phenomenon that has arisen from a union does not exist, because phenomena have originated dependently.” P18k P25k P100k

Just this is the intrinsic nature of all phenomena that are nonexistent things, “the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature.”

4.­809

In regard to the other explanation of “nonexistence of an intrinsic nature,” it says

“an existent thing is empty of an existent thing, a nonexistent thing is empty of a nonexistent thing”‍— P18k P25k P100k

the existent thing and an intrinsic nature are an existent thing and an intrinsic nature; and the nonexistent thing and an intrinsic nature are a nonexistent thing and an intrinsic nature.758 In this construction, from the words nonexistent thing it is realized that an existent thing does not exist whereby an existent thing, as well as a nonexistent thing, are grasped; and from the words nonintrinsic nature it is realized that it is not an intrinsic nature whereby an intrinsic nature, as well as a nature from something else, are grasped. Those four emptinesses are called “the emptiness of the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature.”

4.­810

“An existent thing” P18k P25k P100k

arises from those conditions,759 so associate the words “existent thing” with compounded phenomena. Therefore, it says

“an existent thing is empty of an existent thing.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­811

Associate the words

“nonexistent thing” [F.123.a] P18k P25k P100k

with uncompounded phenomena. Therefore, it says

“a nonexistent thing is empty of a nonexistent thing.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­812

There it means an existent phenomenon is separated from an essential nature of an existent thing, and a nonexistent phenomenon is separated from an essential nature of a nonexistent thing.

4.­813

“Intrinsic nature” P18k P25k P100k

is knowledge and seeing because the thoroughly established state left over when the imaginary state of phenomena is eliminated is the intrinsic nature of knowledge and seeing. That is why it is so called. There, the emptiness of knowledge

“has not been made by knowledge,” P18k P25k P100k

and the emptiness of seeing

“has not been made by seeing,” P18k P25k P100k

so, the emptiness of those two intrinsic natures is the

“basic nature… called the emptiness of an intrinsic nature.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­814

“Whether the tathāgatas arise or whether the tathāgatas do not arise”‍— P18k P25k P100k

that

“suchness,” P18k P25k P100k

that

“true nature of dharmas” P18k P25k P100k

that marks what

“remains,” P18k P25k P100k

is not made by something else‍—a “tathāgata” and so on that is other, so

“the emptiness of a nature from something else” P18k P25k P100k

is said of what does not have a maker that is other.

3. Great Vehicle of all the meditative stabilizations

4.­815

Then, in order to set the scene for the Great Vehicle of all the meditative stabilizations, it says

“the meditative stabilization śūraṅgama” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. The one that like a hero760 does the work of the meditative stabilizations, causes an experience of the range of all meditative stabilizations, and pervades them totally is called the śūraṅgama.

4.­816

Nonconceptual, extraordinary states of mind without outflows of buddhas and bodhisattvas are called meditative stabilization because they privilege nondistraction and activity that is not carried out with thought construction. Those meditative stabilizations are not concentrations, because concentrations are included in the activity of those who have form. And even though they are one in their nature as states of mind, through the force of earlier endeavors, insofar as they are catalysts for different distinct activities [F.123.b] they are set forth with different names governed by the work they do.

4.­817

Furthermore, they are not within the range of others’ thought, because they are self-reflexive analytic knowledges. You should take them as they are said to be in the Sūtra, and not subject them to logical analysis.

4. Great Vehicle of the applications of mindfulness

4.­818

“Furthermore, Subhūti, the Great Vehicle of bodhisattva great beings is this: the four applications of mindfulness.”761 P18k P25k P100k

Here it is called a foundation762 of mindfulness because mindfulness is placed close by, hence the foundation is the four‍—

“body… feeling… mind… and dharmas”‍— P18k P25k P100k

and763 they are referred to with the locution applications of mindfulness.

4.­819

It is mindfulness, and it is an application, so, since it is said to be an application of mindfulness, it is the four mindfulnesses for not forgetting and for guarding the objects of the four dharmas that are its objects. Because its objective supports are four it is called the four applications of mindfulness.

4.­820

Here the earlier teaching is about all four applications of mindfulness in the Great Vehicle system,764 and the latter is a teaching about the application of mindfulness to the body alone, in six parts in accord with the śrāvaka system.

4.­821

“Dwell while viewing in a body the inner body”‍— P18k P25k P100k

the body is reckoned to be the inner being. When they are viewing it, they are said to be “viewing in a body the inner body.” When they are viewing the body of form765 that is outer, not reckoned to be the being, they are said to be

“viewing in a body the outer body.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­822

When they are viewing somebody else’s body, reckoned to be an outer being, they are said to be

“viewing in a body the inner and outer body.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­823

When, having taken the inner form reckoned to be the being as the objective support, feelings, mind, and dharmas arise, take them to be

“inner feelings, inner mind, and inner dharmas.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­824

When they arise from having taken the outer form not reckoned to be a being as the objective support, they are called

“outer feelings, outer mind, and outer dharmas.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­825

When [F.124.a] they arise from having taken the form of somebody else counted as a being as the objective support, they are called

“inner and outer feelings, inner and outer mind, and inner and outer dharmas.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­826

Alternatively, “while viewing in a body the inner body” is said to be when they take the six sense fields as their objective support; “while viewing in a body the outer body” is said to be when they take outer form not included in and not informed by the faculties as their objective support; and “viewing in a body the inner and outer body” is said to be when they take form not included in the six sense fields, but taken as inner, as their objective support. Connect the “feeling, mind, and dharmas” that have arisen from having taken those three forms as their objective support threefold766 as well.

4.­827

As another alternative, when taking the materiality of the inner elements767 included in one’s own body as the objective support it is called inner; when taking the outer elements of somebody else as the objective support it is called outer; and having made that materiality of the elements into the cause, when taking the elemental faculties and their objects as the objective support it is called inner and outer. Again, understand the “feeling, mind, and dharmas” that have arisen from having taken those three forms as their objective support threefold as well.

4.­828

As another alternative, when they are viewing in a body an inner body that has consciousness they are said to be “viewing the inner body, feeling, mind, and dharmas”; when they are viewing the black and blue and so on, which has no consciousness, they are said to be “viewing outer body, feeling, mind, and dharmas”; and when they are viewing what is naturally happening to the form of a body that has no consciousness and is black and blue and so on, which had consciousness in the past, and the same thing naturally happening to this body that has consciousness, and which will also in the future have no consciousness, as equal, they are said to be “viewing inner and outer body, feeling, mind, and dharmas.” [F.124.b]

4.­829

“Viewing in a body the inner body” means they “dwell while viewing,” reflecting768 on an inner body labeled769 body, that is they “dwell” dwelling by way of not apprehending anything‍—by way of not seeing an actual person there, or actual dharmas there.

4.­830

To explicate dwelling by way of not apprehending anything, it says

“without indulging in speculations to do with the body.” P18k P25k P100k

It means these “speculations” with the perception of it as “the body”: that it is “the body”; or that it is permanent, impermanent, pleasure, suffering, with a self, selfless, calm, not calm, empty, or not empty; or that it has a sign, is signless, is wished for, is wishless and so on. They are “without indulging” those.

4.­831

“By way of not apprehending anything” P18k P25k P100k

means viewing based on paying attention to not apprehending anything and not speculating that it is this or that.

4.­832

“Enthusiastic, introspective, mindful, having cleared away ordinary covetousness and depression”‍— P18k P25k P100k

they are “enthusiastic” because they apply themselves perfectly by practicing continually and practicing respectfully; “introspective” because they pay attention perfectly, viewing with wisdom and introspection; and “mindful” with the mindfulness that is not forgetting, that guards, and that prevents distraction.

4.­833

Then, to teach the benefits of those‍—of perseverance, wisdom, and mindfulness‍—it says “having cleared away ordinary covetousness and depression.” “Ordinary dharmas” mean ‘worldly dharmas’: the four of attaining, fame, pleasure, and praise, which give rise to mental attachment in an ordinary person; [F.125.a] and the four of not attaining, infamy, blame, and pain, which give rise to depression. To teach that such enthusiasm for meditation without apprehending anything is not stained by any of the worldly dharmas, it says “having cleared away ordinary covetousness and depression.”

4.­834

Alternatively, to teach that they have stopped attachment and anger toward beings and compounded things based on not apprehending persons or dharmas, it says “having cleared away ordinary covetousness and depression.”

4.­835

As another alternative, among all the obstructions, attachment that causes them to act on a desire for sense gratification, along with malice, are the main ones.770 To teach that they have stopped them is to teach that they have stopped all the obstructions.

4.­836

Similarly,771

“viewing in feelings inner feelings”‍— P100k

feelings are subdivided into the three feelings that come about based on happiness, suffering, and indifference, which are further subdivided into six based on physical and mental feelings, together with nonspiritual and spiritual ones, and those “based on greed and based on transcendence.”772 Having undertaken an analysis of them based on the one who feels being the self or the dharmas, having so viewed, they “dwell” dwelling by way of not apprehending anything.

4.­837

Similarly, they “dwell while viewing” by way of not apprehending a self or dharmas, based on the division of mind into “a greedy state of mind and a mind free from greed, a mind with hate and free from hate, a mind with delusion and free from delusion, a mind collected and distracted,” and so on.773

4.­838

“In dharmas.” Construe this as follows: In the aggregates, constituents, sense fields, obstructions, branches of awakening, noble truths and so on that are the dharmas. [F.125.b] They “dwell” based on them. They meditate on entering into becoming absorbed in them, “not apprehending” any falsely imagined dharma.774

4.­839

Having thus taught the four applications of mindfulness in the bodhisattva vehicle system, wanting to teach in six parts just the application of mindfulness to the body by way of the teaching in the śrāvaka system, it says they

“dwell, while viewing in a body the inner body, aware, when practicing, ‘I am practicing,’ ” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. It teaches from six points of view: from the viewpoint of the way they carry themselves, from the viewpoint of being clearly conscious, from the viewpoint of breathing in and breathing out, from the viewpoint of the presentation of the constituents, from the viewpoint of the thirty-two aspects, and from the viewpoint of the unpleasantnesses.

4.­840

There, first, teaching from the viewpoint of the way they carry themselves, it says

“practicing… standing… sitting… and lying down.” P18k P25k P100k

It teaches these ways they carry themselves in three parts: big, middling, and small.

4.­841

The four ways they carry themselves when going on a long path are termed big. The first section of the text is an explanation based on that.775

4.­842

The four ways they carry themselves when practicing during the period of entering a settlement to beg or when seeking to go from one temple to another temple are middling, and governed by that,

“going out or coming back, clearly conscious of what they are doing” P18k P25k P100k

teaches the second.776

4.­843

The four ways they carry themselves when going to physically relieve themselves‍—when going to a place to urinate or defecate and so on‍—are small. Based on that,

“gone, stood, sat down, slept” P18k P25k P100k

teaches those.

4.­844

“When they have looked around or peered, they are clearly conscious of what they are doing,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, is just small.

4.­845

The carrying out of all activities is understood analytically in five ways: “I am doing this and that”; “I have to do this and I must not do that”; “this is the right time and that is the wrong time”; “I should do it like this [F.126.a] and I should not do it like that”; and, “it should be done for that purpose.”

4.­846

“Aware, when practicing, ‘I am practicing,’ ” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, is a further explanation of that. And then, in the section of the passage on the small way they carry themselves,

“going out” P18k P25k P100k

is going over there, and

“coming back” P18k P25k P100k

is returning. They

“have looked around,” P18k P25k P100k

viewing form without thinking about it, without having made a prior decision to do so. Alternatively, “looking around” is looking in front;

“peered” P18k P25k P100k

is looking in another direction.

4.­847

“They have pulled in,” P18k P25k P100k

retracted, and

“stretched out,” P18k P25k P100k

extended, their shoulders, arms, legs, limbs, and extremities in these or those activities. Their large robe is the

“under robe,” P18k P25k

and the robes other than that are the

“outer robe.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­848

The receptacle for alms is

“a begging bowl.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­849

They

“have eaten” P18k P25k P100k

cooked rice and so on;

“drunk” P18k P25k P100k

beverages and so on; have

“chewed”777 P18k P25k P100k

vegetables and so on; and

“savored” P18k P25k P100k

milk, yogurt, and molasses and so on. They are

4.­850

“overcome by drowsiness” P18k P25k P100k

at the wrong time, when traveling on a path and so on or when oppressed by the heat and so on. It is

“warded off” P18k P25k P100k

by gazing off into the directions and so on, splashing water and so on, and wiping the face and so on. They have

4.­851

“gone” P18k P25k P100k

treading and so on;

“stood” P18k P25k P100k

attending on a guru and so on;

“sat down” P18k P25k P100k

in a cross-legged posture and so on;

“slept” P18k P25k P100k

by sleeping at the right time in the way a lion sleeps;

“awoken” P18k P25k P100k

by not falling asleep during a period of five watches;778

“spoken” P18k P25k P100k

perfect discourses explaining the doctrine;

“remained silent,” P18k P25k P100k

thinking about and pondering, and so on, the meaning of the doctrines heard and taken up in the mind; and are

“withdrawn for meditation” P18k P25k P100k

when working hard at insight and calm abiding.

4.­852

In regard to the third779 viewpoint of breathing in and breathing out, it says they780

“are mindful when breathing in, aware of the fact ‘I am breathing in’; are mindful when breathing out, aware of the fact ‘I am breathing out.’ P18k P25k P100k

This means [F.126.b] they make mindfulness and introspection primary and concentrate well on ‘I am breathing in.’

4.­853

“When breathing in long, [they] are aware of the fact ‘I am breathing in long.’ ” P18k P25k P100k

When beginners are persevering at mindfulness and introspection their body and mind become pliant and the in and out breaths gradually become more and more subtle. It becomes more and more difficult to pay attention. At that point practitioners lengthen their breath and make themselves pay attention.

4.­854

Some say to take a rest you should meditate by sometimes shortening it and sometimes lengthening it.

4.­855

Others say “long” is the ordinary breathing in and out, and “short” is breathing in and out from time to time. In

“a skillful potter or potter’s apprentice” P18k P25k P100k

the “skillful potter” is the one who is well trained and the “potter’s apprentice” the trainee. It mentions them both to teach that the complete yogic practitioner and the beginner are similar.

4.­856

From the viewpoint of constituents and from the viewpoint of the body are easy to understand.781

4.­857

There are nine sections of the text from the viewpoint of unpleasantness:782 a body

“dead for one day… bloated”; P18k P25k P100k

“dead for two days… black and blue”; P18k P25k P100k

“dead for three days, or dead for four days… putrid”; P18k P25k P100k

“or dead for five days… cleaned out by worms,” P18k P25k P100k

which is to say, the worms have gotten into it. In all the past this783

4.­858

“has such a quality”; P18k P25k P100k

in the future as well it

“is of such a nature”; P18k P25k P100k

and in the present it also

“does not go beyond having that as its natural state.”784 P18k P25k P100k

4.­859

The two‍—the

“being eaten” P18k P25k P100k

section and the

“chewed up” P18k P25k P100k

section‍—are the “savaged” unpleasantness785 divided in terms of the present and past. The two786‍—the

4.­860

“daubed with flesh and blood, and hardly connected by sinews” P18k P25k P100k

section, and the section when all the three787 are no longer there‍—are the “bloodied” [F.127.a] unpleasantness. The two‍—

4.­861

“the bones no longer held in the frame of a skeleton, detached from each other, scattered about like conch shells” P18k P25k P100k

section, and the

“in one the bones of the feet, in another the bones of the lower leg” P18k P25k P100k

section‍—are the “torn asunder” unpleasantness. The section on being

4.­862

“scattered” P18k P25k P100k

in one and in all the directions is just a subdivision of that. The next two sections788 are the “bare-bones” unpleasantness‍—where they are not colored and have not crumbled, and where they are colored and have crumbled, are just divisions of that.

4.­863

Thus, there the unpleasantness is eightfold: bloated, black and blue, putrid, cleaned out by worms, savaged, bloodied, torn asunder, and bare-bones. As for the one “cleaned out by worms,” the one that is “burnt” is just that too.

4.­864

There, first of all is paying attention without apprehending anything. There are five of viewing a body that has consciousness, and eight unpleasantnesses where there is no consciousness, and an explanation of mindfulness of the body in thirteen parts, so the passage has fifteen sections.789

[B12]

5. Great Vehicle of the right abandonments

4.­865

The second is790

“the four right abandonments.”791 P18k P25k P100k

4.­866

They are “right efforts,” that is to say, perseverance, because they put the mind to work in the right way.792 Furthermore, because that perseverance is of four types on account of specific practices, it says “four.” They

“generate the desire…,793 making an effort at it, making a vigorous attempt, tightening up the mind and perfectly settling it down.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­867

Perseverance is of four types: armor-perseverance, practice-perseverance, perseverance by not getting depressed, and perseverance through skillful means, so it says “four.”794 The first makes them buckle on armor, thinking “I will do it like this.” About this, it says [F.127.b] “generate the desire.” Then they exert themselves in practice in line with the armor they have buckled on. About this, it says “making an effort at it.” Then, even if it becomes very difficult,795 without getting depressed they try even harder. About this, it says “making a vigorous attempt.” Then they forsake the practice without skillful means and establish themselves in perfect skillful means. The two‍—“tightening up the mind” and “perfectly settling it down”‍—teach this. When the mind is overly relaxed, they tighten it by paying attention to tightening up, hence it says “tightening up the mind”; and when the mind becomes agitated they perfectly settle it down by paying attention to becoming collected, hence it says “perfectly settling it down.”

6. Great Vehicle of the legs of miraculous power

4.­868

The third is796

“the four legs of miraculous power.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­869

They are “legs of miraculous power” because they serve as the underpinning and foundation of miraculous powers termed extraordinary dharmas. They are four:

“yearning… perseverance, concentrated mind, and examination.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­870

Thus, when certain persons generate a strong desire to cultivate the wholesome dharmas and they have practiced solely on account of the power of the “yearning” to do that, they ponder well, think about and pay attention to nothing else, and their mind becomes single-pointed. That meditative stabilization that is produced, governed by their desire to do it, is called

“yearning… meditative stabilization.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­871

When certain persons practice with the perseverance of the four right efforts, when they have practiced striving perfectly to eliminate the unwholesome and produce the wholesome, their minds become single-pointed. That meditative stabilization that is produced, governed by their perseverance at it, is called

“perseverance… meditative stabilization.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­872

When certain persons have engaged in training their minds, they cause them to settle down with calm abiding, tightening, and equanimity as the cause, and, through the power of training their minds, their minds abide in single-pointedness. That meditative stabilization that is produced, governed [F.128.a] by the concentrated mind, is called

“concentrated mind… meditative stabilization.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­873

When certain persons practice perfectly and stop what is improper and correctly pay attention, when they are not ensnared and become habituated to things that counteract becoming ensnared so that they do not do the bad unwholesome things they were used to doing, they reflect like this: “Am I not doing the bad things I am used to doing?” Even while they are reflecting like that they also think: “I must fully examine whether those bad unwholesome things exist and am I not doing what I am used to doing, or whether they do not exist and I am not doing what I am used to doing.” They direct their attention to such an examination and meditate perfectly. When they exert themselves based on paying attention to the examination of that, the meditative stabilization that arises is called

“endowed with an examination… meditative stabilization.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­874

After the four meditative stabilizations have come about and the snares are distant, they make a further vigorous attempt to eliminate the residual impressions with the above four right efforts. When they make the vigorous attempt, the eight dharmas of the

“volitional effort to eliminate”797 P18k P25k P100k

arise. These are the yearning intention to generate the ordinary and extraordinary absorptions, the resolve to overcome all unwholesome dharmas, the faith in qualities attained at higher stages, the pliancy when that has gone before, the mindfulness and introspection factors in that, the introspection on the insight side, the mind that is actively concerned with that, and the relaxation when there is no degeneration of the mind. This means they

4.­875

“develop” P18k P25k P100k

the meditative stabilization that is a

“limb of” P18k P25k P100k

extraordinary

“miraculous power endowed with” P18k P25k P100k

the aforementioned “yearning… meditative stabilization” and the eight dharmas of the “volitional effort to eliminate”‍— [F.128.b] yearning, perseverance, faith, pliancy, mindfulness, introspection, intention, and equanimity.

4.­876

“Based on isolation”‍— P18k P25k P100k

“isolation” is from defilements;

“detachment” P18k P25k P100k

is from suffering existence;

“cessation” P18k P25k P100k

is of suffering; and

“renunciation” P18k P25k P100k

is of all the aggregates.

4.­877

Alternatively, “based on isolation” is because of comprehending the truth of suffering;

“based on detachment” P18k P25k P100k

is because of eliminating the truth of origination;

“based on cessation” P18k P25k P100k

is because of making the truth of cessation directly known; and

“transformed by renunciation” P18k P25k P100k

is because of meditation on the truth of the path.

4.­878

Alternatively, it is on account of the aggregate of morality that it is “based on isolation,” on account of the aggregate of meditative stabilization “based on detachment,” on account of the aggregate of wisdom “based on cessation,” and on account of the aggregate of liberation “transformed by renunciation.”

7. Great Vehicle of the faculties

4.­879

As for the fourth,798 when the practitioners of the preparation for reality governed by all four such conditions799 see the sign that a special dharma is going to emerge, the certainty that the special dharma will emerge arises, and at that time a confidence about what the Teacher and the śrāvakas have attained arises. When they have such confidence, it is called the

“faith faculty,” P18k P25k P100k

because it is a faculty in charge of the emergence of the transcendental extraordinary dharma at the higher stage. On account of the power of the faith a surpassing perseverance arises. It too is similarly called the

“perseverance faculty,” P18k P25k P100k

because it is a faculty in charge of the emergence of the transcendental extraordinary dharma. Connect this in the same way with the

“mindfulness faculty,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, as well.

8. Great Vehicle of the powers

4.­880

As for the fifth, when their faith itself gets stronger and no one at all, be it the gods, Māra, or Brahmā, can withstand it, whatever their qualities, and they are not trapped in the snares of the defilements, it is called the

“faith power.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­881

Just because it is not overwhelmed for the same reasons just explained,

“perseverance” [F.129.a] P18k P25k P100k

and so on become hard to withstand. The practitioners with those powers are powerful, so having overcome all the powers of Māra they are really prepared. Therefore, they are called powers.

4.­882

When those five faith faculties and so on have been developed they become the wholesome roots that are aids to knowledge that penetrates true reality: the warmed, the peaked, the forbearance, and the highest ordinary dharma. During the period of the warmed and peaked they are called faculties; during the forbearance and highest ordinary dharma periods they are called powers.

9. Great Vehicle of the limbs of awakening

4.­883

There, immediately after “the highest ordinary dharma,” when all five800 have become extremely strong they become branches of the path of seeing, the correct realization of reality. Thus

“the seven” P18k P25k P100k

dharmas that are

“limbs of awakening” P18k P25k P100k

4.­884

arise. The three,

“examination of dharmas, perseverance, and joy,” P18k P25k P100k

are the insight factors;

“pliability, meditative stabilization, and equanimity” P18k P25k P100k

are the calm abiding factors; and

“mindfulness” P18k P25k P100k

is on both sides.

10. Great Vehicle of the path

4.­885

There they see that by attaining those [seven limbs], of their afflictions, the ones eliminated by seeing have been eliminated but the ones eliminated by meditation have not been eliminated. So, to eliminate them they meditate on the noble path that is eightfold, and in the three aggregates. There,

“right view, right idea, and right effort” P18k P25k P100k

are the aggregate of wisdom;

“right speech, right conduct, and right livelihood” P18k P25k P100k

of morality; and the two,

“right mindfulness and right meditative stabilization,” P18k P25k P100k

of meditative stabilization.

4.­886

Because that path systematized as eightfold, furthermore, has eliminated all the defilements of noble trainees, and is the path that witnesses freedom directly, it is called

“the eightfold noble path.” [F.129.b] P18k P25k P100k

Those are teaching the Great Vehicle of the dharmas on the side of awakening.

11. Great Vehicle of the liberations

4.­887

“Furthermore, Subhūti, the Great Vehicle of bodhisattva great beings is this: the three meditative stabilizations that are the three gateways to liberation. What are the three? They are the emptiness meditative stabilization, the signless meditative stabilization, and the wishless meditative stabilization.”801 P18k P25k P100k

4.­888

Among them, the single-pointed mind that sees, as an image of the empty, the inexpressible marked as the thoroughly established phenomenon, which is separated from the marks of the objective range of foolish beings marked as falsely imagined, is the emptiness meditative stabilization.

4.­889

That attention, in the form of a single-pointed mind, to calmness in the image of a spacelike signlessness, which is a separation from the representation of the true reality that is a thoroughly established functioning thing, an image of a sign that causes all conceptual thought construction, is the signlessness meditative stabilization.

4.­890

Also, having grasped true reality‍—the functioning thing thoroughly established on account of an other-powered phenomenon‍—and having thought about such an extremely purified functioning thing, that “the affliction of it with the afflictive emotions that arise from a representation of thought construction on account of an other-powered phenomenon would be disgrace”; and having then perceived it as discordant and thought, “From now on may I not wish for and remain in those three realms”‍—such an attention, in the form of a single-pointed mind, is the wishlessness meditative stabilization.

4.­891

Seeing that the falsely imagined are without marks is “the emptiness meditative stabilization”; seeing thoroughly established phenomena as having the mark of calmness is “the signless meditative stabilization”; and seeing other-powered phenomena as discordant802 is “the wishless meditative stabilization.” There, because of the absolute nonexistence of what is marked as falsely imagined, it says803

“that which is the stability of mind when it understands analytically that all dharmas are empty of their own marks is the emptiness gateway to liberation. [F.130.a] It is called the emptiness meditative stabilization.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­892

Because it is the mark of a thoroughly established phenomenon, all dharmas are marked by signlessness, so it says

“that which is the stability of mind when it understands analytically that all dharmas are without a causal sign is the signlessness gateway to liberation. It is called the signlessness meditative stabilization.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­893

Because it is pure in its true dharmic nature and, because it is caused by afflictions and so on plucked out of thin air, it is not something that exists, that which is the occasioning of anything marked as meritorious, unmeritorious, or immovable does not ultimately exist, so, since all dharmas do not occasion anything, it says804

“that which is the stability of mind when it understands analytically that all dharmas do not occasion anything is the wishlessness gateway to liberation. It is called the wishlessness meditative stabilization.” P18k P25k P100k

12. Great Vehicle of the knowledges

4.­894

In regard to the Great Vehicle of the knowledges, all

“eleven knowledges” P18k P25k P100k

are the Great Vehicle.

4.­895

Among these, “This is suffering. This is the origin of suffering. This is the cessation of suffering. This is suffering not produced in the future,”

“is knowledge of suffering.”805 P18k P25k

4.­896

Even though it is in four parts, here, having taken up the last, knowledge of the fact that suffering will not arise in the future‍—that its continuum is cut‍—it

“is called knowledge of suffering.” P18k P25k P100k

Therefore, it says it is

“knowledge that suffering is not produced.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­897

“Knowledge of the abandonment of origination” P18k P25k P100k

means knowledge that all the primary afflictions and the secondary afflictions and the karma that constitute the origin have been eliminated.

4.­898

“The knowledge of the cessation of suffering” P18k P25k P100k

is knowledge that the five appropriating aggregates are extinguished.

4.­899

“The knowledge of the eightfold noble path” P18k P25k P100k

is knowledge of the cause of the cessation of suffering, that this path and this realization block suffering.

4.­900

“The knowledge that greed, [F.130.b] hatred, and confusion have been extinguished” P18k P25k P100k

is on the Kṛtāvin level.806 This knowledge directly perceives it.

4.­901

“The knowledge that a form of life in suffering existence is not produced” P18k P25k P100k

is a consciousness that birth in a form of life in suffering existence does not exist, which is to say the

“knowledge of nonproduction” P18k P25k P100k

is the knowledge of subsequent purity.807

4.­902

“Knowledge of the dharma”808 P18k P25k P100k

is the direct realization of freedom that apprehends that nonproduction or emptiness.

4.­903

Impermanence and so on are inferred,809 so

“subsequent realization knowledge” P18k P25k P100k

is the knowledge that apprehends those.

4.­904

It is just as an individual that you apprehend the falsely imagined, so810

“conventional knowledge” P18k P25k P100k

is knowledge of someone else’s thoughts.

4.­905

“Knowledge of mastery”‍— P18k P25k P100k

“mastery” is making yourself thoroughly familiar with something, the same as “meditation.” Mastery is also the same as “totally vanquishing” bad, unwholesome dharmas.811 There, in the earlier idea, knowledge that accomplishes the final result is mastery. In the second idea, cognition that vanquishes and extinguishes all that is bad is knowledge of mastery. Hence, it says

“knowledge of the path and knowledge of extinction.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­906

There, the earlier one teaches in brief that the knowledge of mastery explained below is just that, so it is not being explained again.812

4.­907

There,

“what is knowledge in accord with sound? It is a tathāgata’s knowledge of all sounds.” P18k P25k P100k

A sound is an expression. Name and label are synonyms. The understanding of whatever the languages‍—whatever the expressions in the hells, among the animals, of humans, and of gods and so on‍—is “knowledge in accord with sound.”

13. Great Vehicle of the three faculties

4.­908

“The three faculties”‍— P18k P25k P100k

the three faculties are the Great Vehicle because they are the differentiators of the generators those in the Śrāvaka and Pratyekabuddha Vehicles use for purification dharmas.

4.­909

“The faculty of coming to understand what one does not understand” [F.131.a] P18k P25k P100k

facilitates the path of seeing;

“the faculty of understanding” P18k P25k P100k

facilitates both;813 and

“the faculty of having understood” P18k P25k P100k

facilitates the nontrainee path.

4.­910

“Without appearances that tame the arrogance”‍— P18k

it says “without appearances” because for bodhisattvas on the path of seeing there is no appearance of any phenomenon apart from suchness. It says “tame the arrogance” because it eliminates the afflictions.

14. Great Vehicle of the three meditative stabilizations

4.­911

These are

“the meditative stabilization with applied thought and with sustained thought” P18k P25k P100k

and so on. There are three meditative stabilizations because there has to be a realization of gross, middling, and subtle movement of thought. “With applied thought and with sustained thought” is the gross;

“without applied thought with only sustained thought” P18k P25k P100k

is the middling; and

“without either applied or sustained thought” P18k P25k P100k

is the subtle.

15–16. Great Vehicle of the mindfulnesses and the five absorptions

4.­912

The mindfulnesses… concentrations… and immeasurables and so on814 are to bring beings to maturity, to gather them, to gain control over them, and to bring the buddhadharmas to maturity and so on.

4.­913

Among them815

“the four immeasurables” P18k P25k P100k

are “immeasurable” because they focus on immeasurable beings, are the cause of an immeasurable accumulation, are the cause of the attainment of immeasurable dharmas, and are the object of an immeasurable knowledge.

4.­914

There, there are three types of love: the one that takes beings as its objective support on the devoted course of conduct level, the one that takes suchness as its objective support on the first to the seventh levels, and from the eighth level on up the one that does not apprehend anything.

4.­915

There are also three types of compassion: the one that takes suffering beings as its objective support, the one that takes beings who are involved in much misconduct as its objective support, and the one that takes beings without the necessary conditions for freedom as its objective support.

4.­916

There are also three types of joy: the one that takes happy beings as its objective support, the one that takes those who have accumulated their collections as its objective support, and the one that takes those who have experienced the taste of the good doctrine [F.131.b] as its objective support.

4.­917

And there are also three types of equanimity: the one that, when conducting themselves for the welfare of others, apprehends those who are fortunate and those without good fortune; the one that apprehends in a state of equanimity the conditions of attaining and not attaining and so on governing an ordinary person’s life;816 and the one that apprehends, in respect to the completion of the accumulations, when is and is not the time.

4.­918

There,

“a mind endowed with love” P18k P25k P100k

teaches that it is endowed with good qualities;

“vast” P18k P25k P100k

and so on teaches the actual good qualities. Again, the good qualities are three: greatness, unity, and the elimination of enmity. It teaches that the mind is great in three ways: because of intention, increase, and objective support. There it is great because of its intention so it says “vast”; it is great because of its increase so it says

“inclusive”; P18k P25k P100k

and because it has immeasurable beings for its objective support it is great because of its objective support, so it says

“infinite.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­919

It is a unity because it is without thought construction and in the form of love alone, so it says

“nondual.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­920

Because it functions to counteract violence it is not harmed by inner dharmas, so it says

“without enmity”; P18k P25k P100k

because it is not harmed by outer beings it says

“unrivaled”; P18k P25k P100k

because it is not harmed by external and karmically occasioned things it says

“not harmful,” P18k P25k P100k

which is to say, it is not harmed by attachments, poisons, fire and so on.

4.­921

As for

“the four concentrations,”817 P18k P25k P100k

the first is

“detached from sense objects,”818 P18k P25k P100k

detached from both sense objects‍—from the afflictive emotion of desire, and from the bases‍—because of detachment from a state accompanied by it and because of detachment from having those bases as its objective support.

4.­922

“Detached from wrong unwholesome dharmas” P18k P25k P100k

is detachment from what is included in physical, verbal, and mental wrongdoing: harsh punishments, striking with weapons, [F.132.a] wars, arguments, battles, making deceitful statements, harming, lying and so on‍—anything caused by the afflictive emotion of desire. Because of not seeing

“applied thought and sustained thought” P18k P25k P100k

as faults, this concentration that counteracts desire for sense gratification is accompanied by those two.

4.­923

“Born of detachment”‍— P18k P25k P100k

it is born of detachment from sense objects or from being detached from wrongdoing.

4.­924

It has

“joy and happiness” P18k P25k P100k

because the body and mind are pliable, and do what they do with a sense of ease, because, having reached the desired goal, it is separated from all the defective states.819

4.­925

In the second concentration, having seen the causal signs of the meditative stabilization as faulted by the presence of applied and sustained thought, the mind recoils from them. Having made the causal signs of the meditative stabilization without applied and sustained thought attractive to the mind, and separated it from being distracted by distracting objects, the mind, focused single-pointedly in a unified fashion, is calm and placed in a serene confidence. Therefore, it says

“relieved of applied thought and sustained thought, with an inner serene confidence.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­926

With the mind thus settled close by,820 having passed beyond the danger from applied and sustained thought and states where they are an obstruction, because of habituation to the meditation they attain a state where the danger and obstruction do not exist. Therefore, it says

“and a mind that has become a single continuum.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­927

They are

“without applied thought and without sustained thought” P18k P25k P100k

because they have eliminated, in each and every way, applied and sustained thought.

4.­928

In the third concentration,

“because they are free from attachment to joy they abide in equanimity, and with equanimity and recollection and introspection experience happiness with their body.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­929

For those who think abiding in equanimity, and experiencing pleasure, are mutually exclusive, it teaches a practice where [F.132.b] they do not exclude each other. In this concentration, applied and sustained thought have been eliminated, as well as enjoyment, so without obstructions they “abide in equanimity.” Furthermore, in order not to open up any opportunities for paying attention to perceptions of enjoyment they remain mindful. In order not to cause those that have been produced to arise, as they have again and again, they remain at their post with wisdom.821 Therefore it says

“with recollection and introspection.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­930

Thus in equanimity, those staying at their post, having eliminated the feeling of enjoyment that causes the mind to become distracted, produce a feeling of extreme calm, a calm in which there is no enjoyment, and that also at that time causes an experience of a pleasurable feeling and an experience of the pleasure of pliancy in their physical body and mental body. Thus it says

“experience pleasure with their body… about which the noble beings say, ‘They have equanimity and recollection and dwell in pleasure.’ ” P18k P25k P100k

4.­931

In the lower two concentrations such pleasure and equanimity do not exist. In the one above, equanimity but not pleasure exists. Therefore, since just this third concentration is the abode of pleasure and equanimity, the buddhas and the buddhas’ śrāvakas say primarily of just those in this concentration that “they have equanimity and recollection and dwell in pleasure.”

4.­932

In the fourth concentration

“they have forsaken pleasure.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­933

This teaches that this fourth concentration has forsaken the pleasure with which the third concentration is endowed. That they also

“have earlier forsaken suffering” P18k P25k P100k

includes in the explanation what has been forsaken by the second concentration. That they “earlier”

“set to rest mental happiness” P18k P25k P100k

teaches that enjoyment has been forsaken in the third concentration. That they “set to rest”

“mental unhappiness” P18k P25k P100k

teaches that it has been forsaken by the second concentration as well. Because an extremely purified [F.133.a] equanimity, recollection, and introspection are obtained here, what have been forsaken earlier are included.

4.­934

Because these four feelings822 have been forsaken it also has a feeling beyond them that is neither pleasure nor suffering, so it says

“that is neither happiness nor suffering.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­935

“Extremely pure equanimity and recollection” P18k P25k P100k

teaches the cause of the fourth concentration’s immovability.

4.­936

As for the teaching about the four formless absorptions,823

“totally transcending perceptions of form” P18k P25k P100k

teaches that color perceptions endowed with blue, yellow, red, white and so on have become nonexistent because they are disgusted by them and separate from attachment to them through an increase in admiration for the space-like. Hence, on account of habituation to the meditation on an admiration for the space-like, they transcend those perceptions of form and so on, and all the perceptions of obstruction from pillars, walls, planks and so on, caused by many various layers of colors, do not arise, so it says

“setting to rest perceptions of obstruction.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­937

When they have disappeared, the energy in the various perceptions of food, drink, vehicles, clothes, ornaments, homes, parks, mountains and so on that are expressed in many various forms stops operating, so it says,

“not paying attention to perceptions of difference.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­938

Because all those perceptions apprehending form have been destroyed, an admiration in the form of endless space comes about, so it says

“in endless space they perfectly accomplish and dwell in the station of endless space.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­939

“Totally transcending the station of endless space, in endless consciousness”‍— P18k P25k P100k

that consciousness on account of which the consciousness that is an admiration in the form of endless space is an admiration in the form of endless space‍—having taken that itself as endless, [F.133.b] they want to become absorbed in the station of endless consciousness, so they recoil from the perception of the station of endless space and admire the state of consciousness as endless. Therefore, it says endless consciousness.

4.­940

“Totally transcending the station of endless consciousness”‍— P18k P25k P100k

they move off from endless consciousness, and when they search for some other objective support besides consciousness they find nothing material or nonmaterial at all. When they do not find that objective support they transcend even the station of endless consciousness. They take just the station of nothing-at-all as their objective support and, having meditated on it, become absorbed in it. Therefore, it says

“in nothing-at-all they perfectly accomplish and dwell in the station of nothing-at-all.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­941

“Totally transcending the station of nothing-at-all”‍— P18k P25k P100k

having come to see the perception of the station of nothing-at-all as flawed by grossness, they recoil from the perception of the station of nothing-at-all. Earlier, during the period of absorption into the station of nothing-at-all they recoiled from the perception of something being there. Now they recoil from the perception of nothing at all, so it is

“neither perception,” P18k P25k P100k

which is to say, it is not like a mindless absorption in which there is the cessation of all perceptions in each and every way, but rather the emergence of a perception without causal signs, because it is extremely subtle. Therefore, it says

“nor nonperception.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­942

As for the teaching about the eight deliverances,

“with form they see forms” P18k P25k P100k

means they have reached the absorption that apprehends inner form and are absorbed in apprehending outer forms. Of them, furthermore, it will be explained that the two earlier deliverances [F.134.a] are just the unpleasantness, which is to say they are in their nature the first and second concentrations. The third deliverance is in its nature the fourth concentration and furthermore has nonattachment as its intrinsic nature.

4.­943

About these, furthermore, having become absorbed in the first concentration, the absorption that apprehends hair and so on, which counteracts the attachment those living in the desire realm have to color, when they then take a black and blue corpse and so on outside as their objective support and enter into absorption in the first concentration, it is said “with form they see forms.” Similarly, when they enter into absorption in the second concentration, which counteracts the attachment of those at the first concentration level to color, it is also said “with form they see forms.” It says “with form” based on their apprehending inner form, and it says “they see forms” based on the absorption apprehending outer forms.

4.­944

As for the second,

“with the perception of form inside, they see forms outside” P18k P25k P100k

means when certain yogic practitioners not absorbed in the absorption apprehending hair and so on inside, apprehend a black and blue corpse and so on outside, they become absorbed in the first concentration, which counteracts the attachment those living in the desire realm have to color, or in the second concentration, which counteracts the attachment of those at the first concentration level to color.

4.­945

“They have admiration for the pleasant” P18k P25k P100k

is the pleasant deliverance. They cultivate it in order to make themselves feel joy when their minds are cowed from having meditated on the unpleasant, or, when they pay attention to their own pleasing form as in fact pleasing, to see whether, based on an attachment to color and so on, their minds change or do not change. So, taking a beautiful form and so on as their objective support and becoming absorbed in the fourth concentration is called “admiration for the pleasant.” It is said that even though [F.134.b] there is no conceptualization of “pleasant” and so on in the moment of absorption, the locution is used governed by it being there earlier.

4.­946

I have already explained the formless deliverances.824

“The nine serial absorptions”825 P18k P25k P100k

are the eight‍—the concentrations and the formless absorptions‍—and the cessation of perceptions and feelings.

[B13]

17. Great Vehicle of the ten powers826

4.­947

In regard to the ten powers of a tathāgata, they are the following.

First power

4.­948

“Accurately knowing the possible as possible, and accurately knowing the impossible as impossible.” P18k P25k P100k

There, what is “the possible” and what is “the impossible”?

4.­949

An unpleasant maturation from wrongdoing is possible; a pleasant maturation is impossible. A pleasant maturation from good deeds is possible; an unpleasant maturation is impossible.

4.­950

Poverty from miserliness is possible; great wealth is impossible. Great wealth from giving is possible; poverty is impossible.

4.­951

Birth in a bad form of life from immorality is possible; birth in a good form of life is impossible. Birth in a good form of life from morality is possible; birth in a bad form of life is impossible.

4.­952

Physical ugliness from malice is possible; physical beauty is impossible. Beauty from patience is possible; ugliness is impossible.

4.­953

No clear realization from laziness is possible; clear realization is impossible. Clear realization of the truths from perseverance is possible; not clearly realizing the truths is impossible.

4.­954

Not entering into the secure state827 from distraction is possible; entering into the secure state is impossible. Entering into true reality through concentration is possible; not entering is impossible. [F.135.a]

4.­955

Not reaching awakening with intellectual confusion is possible; reaching awakening is impossible. Reaching awakening with wisdom is possible; not reaching awakening is impossible.

4.­956

Having a short life from killing is possible; having a long life is impossible. Having a long life from abandoning that is possible; having a short life is impossible.

4.­957

Gaining great wealth from stealing is impossible; poverty is possible. Gaining wealth from abandoning that is possible; poverty is impossible.

4.­958

Finding a wife who you have to compete for from adultery is possible; finding a wife who you do not have to compete for is impossible. Finding a wife who you do not have to compete for from abandoning that adultery is possible; not finding a wife who you do not have to compete for is impossible.828

4.­959

Getting slandered is possible from lying; not getting slandered is impossible. Not getting slandered from abandoning that is possible; getting slandered from abandoning that is impossible.

4.­960

Not getting unity from speaking behind a person’s back is possible; getting it is impossible. Getting unity from abandoning that is possible; not getting it is impossible.

4.­961

Always hearing something unpleasant from shouting is possible; not hearing that is impossible. Always hearing something pleasant from abandoning that is possible; not hearing that is impossible.

4.­962

Your words not being treated with respect from idle chatter is possible; your words being treated with respect is impossible. Your words being treated with respect from abandoning that is possible; your words not being treated with respect is impossible.

4.­963

Wealth dissipating from covetousness is possible; its not dissipating is impossible. Wealth not dissipating from abandoning that is possible; its dissipating is impossible.

4.­964

Going to hell from malice is possible; going to a good form of life is impossible. Going to a good form of life is possible from abandoning that.829

4.­965

Not reaching the noble path with a wrong view is possible; [F.135.b] reaching it is impossible. Reaching the noble path with a right view is possible; not reaching it is impossible.

4.­966

Not obtaining the meditative stabilizations from a crime that brings immediate retribution is possible; obtaining them is impossible. Obtaining them from being moral is possible; not obtaining them is impossible.

4.­967

Not obtaining830 forbearance in accord with the four noble truths with a view that apprehends something is possible; obtaining it is impossible. Obtaining forbearance in accord with the four noble truths from abiding in emptiness is possible; not obtaining it is impossible.

4.­968

A girl who might become a wheel-turning emperor, or an Indra, Brahmā, Vaśavartin, or buddha, is impossible; a boy who might become one of those is possible.831

4.­969

An eighth person832 who gets up from his seat without having gained the result of stream enterer is impossible; one who gets up having gained the result of stream enterer is possible. A once-returner who takes a third existence is impossible; one who does not take one is possible. A non-returner who returns to this world is impossible; one who does not return is possible. A worthy one who links up with another existence under the force of afflictions and karma is impossible; one who does not is possible.

4.­970

A noble person who searches for another teacher is impossible; one who does not is possible.

4.­971

That bodhisattvas who have obtained forbearance for dharmas that are not produced are irreversible is possible; that they are reversible is impossible. That bodhisattvas seated [F.136.a] at the site of awakening will get up from their seat before fully awakening to unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening is impossible; that they will get up fully awakened is possible.

4.­972

That there are residual impression connections in a buddha is impossible; that they have been eliminated completely is possible. That the knowledge of a tathāgata is obstructed by anything at all is impossible; that it is totally unobstructed is possible. That anyone sees the top of a tathāgata’s head is impossible; that nobody sees the top of a tathāgata’s head is possible. That tathāgatas appear to change their minds is impossible; that they do not appear to do so is possible. That the minds of tathāgatas might become distracted is impossible; that they are always in meditative equipoise is possible. That tathāgatas might speak falsely is impossible; that they would not speak falsely is possible. That there might be a mistake in what the buddhas say is impossible;833 that there never is, is possible. That tathāgatas would fear or be scared of anything is impossible; that tathāgatas are totally without fear and not scared by anything is possible.

4.­973

Those and so on are “possible and impossible.” Knowledge of those is “the power of knowing what is and is not possible.”

Second power

4.­974

“The power of knowing the maturation of action.” P18k P25k P100k

This is the knowledge of the lords with which they

“know from the perspective of place and cause the maturations of actions and the undertaking of actions.”834 P18k P25k P100k

4.­975

There is, for instance, the past undertaking of action arisen from a wholesome cause and separated from an unwholesome one, and the outcome of the wholesome cause in the future.835 There is also, contingent on a superior one836 in the present, the undertaking of an action arisen from an unwholesome cause and separated from a wholesome one, and the outcome of the unwholesome cause in the future. There are also, contingent on an inferior one in the past, those that will be contingent on a superior one in the future.837 [F.136.b] There are also, contingent on an inferior one in the present, those that will be contingent on a superior one in the future. There are also, contingent on a superior one in the present, those that will be contingent on an inferior one in the future. There are also, in the present and the future, those that will be contingent on an inferior one. There are also, in the present and the future, those that will be contingent on a superior one. And there are also the slight preparation in the past that will be an immense preparation in the future and the immense preparation in the past that will be a slight preparation in the future; as well as the small undertaking that becomes extremely special; the great undertaking that becomes much less special; the undertaking of action that is the cause of becoming a śrāvaka, the cause of becoming a pratyekabuddha, or the cause of becoming a buddha; that is done with suffering in the present and that matures into pleasure in the future;838 that is done with pleasure in the present and that matures into suffering in the future; that is done with suffering in the present and that matures into suffering in the future as well; and that is done with pleasure in the present and that matures into pleasure in the future as well. Thus, whatever the action, whatever the cause, whatever the maturation of all beings in times past, future, and present‍—the tathāgata knows them all.

Third power839

4.­976

“The world with its various constituents and multiplicity of constituents”840‍— P18k P25k P100k

they know with which disposition constituent841 there is an accumulation of the enactment of ordinary merit,842 and with which disposition constituent there is an accumulation of the immovable,843 an accumulation of births, an accumulation of freedom from attachment, an accumulation of afflictions, an accumulation of views, an accumulation of definite emergence, an accumulation of the causes of becoming a śrāvaka, an accumulation of the causes of becoming a pratyekabuddha, an accumulation of the causes of becoming a buddha, an accumulation of the causes of arising, [F.137.a] and an accumulation of the causes of destruction.

4.­977

They know that the eye constituent, form constituent, and eye consciousness constituent, up to the thinking-mind constituent, dharma constituent, and thinking-mind consciousness constituent, are inner emptinesses, outer emptinesses, and inner and outer emptinesses; they know that the earth element, water element, fire element, wind element, space element, and consciousness element are like a magical illusion and a dream.

4.­978

They know the desire realm, form realm, and formless realm that come about from the falsely imagined unreal.

4.­979

They know that the compounded element is marked as brought about by the falsely imagined, and that the uncompounded element is marked as not being brought about.

4.­980

They know that the defilement element is marked by being plucked out of thin air, and that the purification element is marked by the nature of clear light.

4.­981

They know that the compounded element is marked by ignorance that is not fundamental, and that the nirvāṇa element is marked by being fundamental awareness. They know and teach dharmas like those.

4.­982

This is the power of knowing “various constituents.”

Fourth power

4.­983

“Accurately knowing the various beliefs and the many beliefs of other beings and other persons.” P18k P25k P100k

They know who has an inherited disposition844 for attachment but an inclination to anger; an inherited disposition for anger but an inclination to attachment; an inherited disposition for attachment but an inclination to ignorance; an inherited disposition for ignorance but an inclination to attachment; an inherited disposition for anger but an inclination to ignorance; an inherited disposition for ignorance but an inclination to anger; an inherited disposition for attachment and an inclination to attachment; an inherited disposition for anger and an inclination to anger; [F.137.b] an inherited disposition for ignorance and an inclination to ignorance; an inherited disposition for attachment and anger and an inclination to attachment and anger; an inherited disposition for attachment but an inclination to attachment and ignorance; an inherited disposition for attachment but an inclination to anger and ignorance; an inherited disposition for anger but an inclination to attachment and ignorance; an inherited disposition for anger but an inclination to attachment and anger; an inherited disposition for attachment and ignorance but an inclination to attachment; an inherited disposition for attachment but an inclination to attachment and ignorance; an inherited disposition for anger but an inclination to attachment and ignorance; an inherited disposition for attachment and ignorance but an inclination to anger; an inherited disposition for attachment and anger but an inclination to ignorance; an inherited disposition for ignorance but an inclination to attachment and anger; an inherited disposition for attachment and anger and an inclination to attachment and anger; an inherited disposition for attachment and ignorance and an inclination to attachment and ignorance; an inherited disposition for anger and ignorance and an inclination to anger and ignorance; an inherited disposition for attachment, anger, and ignorance and an inclination to attachment, anger, and ignorance; an inherited disposition for attachment but an inclination to pride; an inherited disposition for anger but an inclination to pride; an inherited disposition for ignorance but an inclination to pride; an inherited disposition for pride and an inclination to pride; an inherited disposition for pride but an inclination to attachment; an inherited disposition for pride but an inclination to anger; an inherited disposition for pride but an inclination to ignorance; an inherited disposition for pride but an inclination to attachment and anger; an inherited disposition for pride but an inclination to attachment and ignorance; an inherited disposition for pride but an inclination to attachment, anger, and ignorance; an inherited disposition for attachment and anger but an inclination to pride; an inherited disposition for attachment and ignorance but an inclination to pride; [F.138.a] an inherited disposition for anger and ignorance but an inclination to pride; an inherited disposition for attachment but an inclination to wrong view; an inherited disposition for anger but an inclination to wrong view; an inherited disposition for ignorance but an inclination to wrong view; an inherited disposition for pride but an inclination to wrong view; an inherited disposition for wrong view and an inclination to wrong view; an inherited disposition for wrong view but an inclination to attachment; an inherited disposition for wrong view but an inclination to anger; an inherited disposition for wrong view but an inclination to ignorance; an inherited disposition for wrong view but an inclination to pride; an inherited disposition for wrong view but an inclination to attachment and anger; an inherited disposition for wrong view but an inclination to attachment and ignorance; an inherited disposition for wrong view but an inclination to attachment and pride; an inherited disposition for wrong view but an inclination to attachment and wrong view; an inherited disposition for wrong view but an inclination to anger and ignorance; an inherited disposition for wrong view but an inclination to anger and pride; an inherited disposition for anger but an inclination to anger and wrong view; an inherited disposition for wrong view but an inclination to ignorance and wrong view; an inherited disposition for wrong view but an inclination to ignorance and pride; and an inherited disposition for wrong view but an inclination to pride and wrong view. They know those types, and, similarly, those with an inherited disposition for the unwholesome but an inclination to the wholesome; an inherited disposition for the wholesome but an inclination to the unwholesome; an inherited disposition for the unwholesome and an inclination to the unwholesome; an inherited disposition for the wholesome and an inclination to the wholesome; as well as those short on execution but big on inclination; big on execution but short on inclination; big on execution and big on inclination as well; short on execution and short on inclination as well; as well as those with a belief that makes them destined to be wrong; with a belief that makes them destined to be correct; with an inclination to move to the desire realm, an inclination to move to the form realm, an inclination to move to the formless realm, an inclination to transcend the desire realm, an inclination to transcend [F.138.b] the form realm, an inclination to transcend the formless realm, and an inclination to transcend all three realms; those with an inclination to move from what is based on the inferior to what is based on the superior; an inclination to move from what is based on the superior to what is based on the inferior; an inclination to move from what is based on the inferior to what is based on the inferior; an inclination to move from what is based on the superior to what is based on the superior; and an inclination to existence, an inclination to escape, an inclination to the state of a śrāvaka, and an inclination to the state of a pratyekabuddha.

4.­984

They know types such as those and so on. This is the power of knowing “various inclinations.”

Fifth power

4.­985

“Accurately knowing the stages of faculties and perseverance of other beings and other persons.” P18k P25k P100k

They know dull faculties, middling faculties, sharp faculties, having no faculties, inferior faculties, and superior faculties; that this faculty of imagination gives rise to attachment, this to anger, this to stupidity, this to pride, and this to wrong views; that this gives rise to small afflictions, this gives rise to middling afflictions, and this gives rise to big afflictions; that this makes for good fortune, and this makes for an absence of good fortune; that with this they reach maturity, and with this they reach maturity for the time being;845 that with this faults become small, and with this they become small for the time being; that this gives rise to the wholesome and so on, this to objects of the senses, this to what is included in form, and this to what is included in the formless; that this gives rise to birth, this to freedom from attachment, this to calm abiding, this to special insight, this to a stream enterer, this to being temporarily obstructed [F.139.a] by seven suffering existences,846 this to having a single interruption,847 and this to being born in family after family and so on. They know types such as those and so on, and that this gives rise to the devoted course of conduct level, this the Pramuditā, and this the Vimalā and so on; and that this gives rise to the completion of the perfections, this to meditation on the dharmas on the side of awakening, this to bringing beings to maturity, this to the purification of a buddhafield, this to the forbearance for dharmas that are not produced, this to obtaining many types of meditative stabilization, this to obtaining the dhāraṇī doors, this to obtaining the clairvoyances, and this to obtaining the faculties and so on.

4.­986

They know those with a faculty for giving who are practicing morality,848 and with a faculty for morality who are practicing giving;849 those with a faculty for giving who are practicing patience, and with a faculty for patience who are practicing giving; those with a faculty for morality who are practicing patience, and with a faculty for patience who are practicing morality; those with a faculty for giving who are practicing perseverance, and with a faculty for perseverance who are practicing giving; those with a faculty for morality who are practicing perseverance, and with a faculty for perseverance who are practicing morality; those with a faculty for patience who are practicing perseverance, and with a faculty for perseverance who are practicing patience; those with a faculty for perseverance who are practicing concentration, and with a faculty for concentration who are practicing perseverance; those with a faculty for concentration who are practicing giving, and with a faculty for giving who are practicing concentration; those with a faculty for concentration who are practicing morality, and with a faculty for morality [F.139.b] who are practicing concentration; those with a faculty for concentration who are practicing patience, and with a faculty for patience who are practicing concentration; those with a faculty for wisdom who are practicing giving, and with a faculty for giving who are practicing wisdom; those with a faculty for wisdom who are practicing morality, and with a faculty for morality who are practicing wisdom; those with a faculty for wisdom who are practicing patience, and with a faculty for patience who are practicing wisdom; those with a faculty for wisdom who are practicing perseverance, and with a faculty for perseverance who are practicing wisdom; and those with a faculty for wisdom who are practicing concentration, and with a faculty for concentration who are practicing wisdom.

4.­987

They know and teach the appropriate doctrine to any of those with a faculty for the applications of mindfulness who are practicing the right abandonments, to any of those with a faculty for the right abandonments who are practicing the applications of mindfulness, and so on (connect the dharmas on the side of awakening like that); to any of those with a faculty for inner emptiness who are abiding in outer emptiness and so on (connect all the emptinesses like that); to any of those with the faculty of a śrāvaka who are practicing a pratyekabuddha’s awakening, to any of those with the faculty for a pratyekabuddha’s awakening whose practice would make them śrāvakas, to any of those with the faculty of a śrāvaka whose practice would make them pratyekabuddhas, to any of those with the faculty of a pratyekabuddha whose practices would make them śrāvakas, to any of those with the faculty for a pratyekabuddha’s awakening whose practice would make them buddhas, and to any of those with the faculty of a buddha whose practice would lead to a pratyekabuddha’s awakening; and to any of those with the faculty for saṃsāra whose practices are for escape, and to any of those with the faculty for escape whose practice is for saṃsāra.

4.­988

This is the power of knowing “higher and lower faculties.”850 [F.140.a]

Sixth power

4.­989

“Accurately knowing the path wherever it goes.” P18k P25k P100k

Here the tathāgatas know the basic character of beings who are destined to be correct, and the basic character of beings destined and not necessarily destined to be wrong. They also know the paths that harmonize with those destined and not necessarily destined for perfection. In regard to those destined to be wrong, they know what is in harmony with what they do, while staying aloof. The bodhisattvas don armor for their sake.

4.­990

They also know the threefold path of attachment. They know there is a path of attachment that comes about from something nice-looking; and a path of attachment that comes about when somebody is nice; and a path of attachment that comes about from the power of habituation in an earlier life. They also know there is a path of anger that comes about from the object of a malicious thought; similarly that is a wrath that comes about from something indicating [an object of an intense dislike];851 and that comes about from a prior cause. And they know there is a path of confusion that comes about with ignorance as the cause, that comes about with the view of the true body as the cause, and that comes about with doubt as the cause. They also know there is a slow path where clairvoyance is easy, and a quick path where clairvoyance is hard; a quick path where clairvoyance is easy, and a slow path where clairvoyance is hard; a path that fully completes the power of analysis but not the power of meditation, a path that fully completes the power of meditation but not the power of analysis, a path that fully completes them both, and one that does not fully complete them both; and also a path where the intention is perfect but the execution is not perfect, a path where the execution is perfect but the intention is not perfect, a path where both are perfect, [F.140.b] and one where both are not perfect; and also a path that purifies body but does not purify speech and mind, one that purifies speech but does not purify body and mind, one that purifies thinking mind but does not purify body and speech, and one that purifies body and speech but does not purify mind; and also one that purifies mind but does not purify body and speech; and also one that purifies body and mind but does not purify speech, and one that purifies body and speech but does not purify thinking mind, and one that does not purify any of them. They know a path of suffering here that becomes happiness beyond; a path of happiness here that becomes suffering beyond; one where there is suffering in both, and one where there is happiness in both; a path that is of benefit to themselves but not of benefit to others, of benefit to others but not of benefit to themselves, of benefit to both, and that does not benefit either; and also a path that results in the desire realm, that counteracts attachment to the objects of the senses; a path that results in the form realm, that counteracts attachment to form; a path that results in the formless realm, that counteracts attachment to formlessness; one with suffering existence as a result, with escape as a result, with a śrāvaka as a result, with a pratyekabuddha’s awakening as a result, and with a buddha as a result; a path of those predestined, and one of those not predestined; one that counteracts attachment to wrongdoing, counteracts obsession, counteracts residual impressions, counteracts attachment, counteracts anger, counteracts confusion, [F.141.a] counteracts pride, and counteracts views; and one that is a practice for accomplishing calm abiding, a practice for accomplishing special insight, a practice for accomplishing the perfections, a practice of cultivating the side of awakening, a practice that brings beings to maturity, a practice that brings the buddhadharmas to maturity, a practice for accomplishing the purification of a buddhafield, a practice that accomplishes the preparations for the levels, a practice for accomplishing clairvoyance, a practice for accomplishing the faculties, a practice for completely accomplishing the accumulation of merit, and a practice for accomplishing the accumulation of knowledge.

4.­991

This is the power of knowing “the path that goes everywhere.”

Seventh power

4.­992

“Accurately knowing the defilement and purification of all concentrations, deliverances, meditative stabilizations, and absorptions.” P18k P25k P100k

They know all the four concentrations‍—the first concentration and so on‍—the three meditative stabilizations that have applied thought and have sustained thought and so on, the four formless absorptions, and the nine serial absorptions, as well as their defilement and the cause of their defilement, their purification and the cause of their purification, and the causes of emergence from them.

4.­993

There,852 the concentrations and so on become defiled through the power of improper attention, dedication to suffering existence, having various views, having an experience of the taste, and paying attention to an objective support. The concentrations and so on [F.141.b] that are absorbed in the branches of a concentration for special insight853 or for bringing beings to maturity, or that accomplish the clairvoyances or pay attention without an objective support and so on, become purified.

4.­994

“The emergence” P18k P25k

comes about through the power of absorption in the siṃha­vijṛmbhita and avaskandhaka meditative stabilizations in direct and reverse order. Here tathāgatas are always in meditative equipoise, absorbed in meditative stabilization. Even if the meditative stabilization is singular, they become absorbed in and emerge from all meditative stabilizations. They demonstrate one meditative stabilization inside all the meditative stabilizations and emerge from it, just as it is found in the Sūtra.854

4.­995

A single meditative stabilization, furthermore, does the work of all meditative stabilizations, and many meditative stabilizations do the work of a single meditative stabilization. They demonstrate a single emergence from all meditative stabilizations, demonstrate a variety of emergences from a variety of meditative stabilizations, and they demonstrate a single meditative stabilization from a variety of emergences. You can grasp these and so on as they are found in the Sūtra.

4.­996

This is the power that “knows concentrations, deliverances, meditative stabilizations, and absorptions.”

Eighth to tenth powers

4.­997

You should comprehend the power of

“recollecting and knowing… previous lives”; P18k P25k P100k

the power that knows

“the divine eye,” P18k P25k P100k

clairvoyance; and the power that knows855

“an end to outflows,” P18k P25k P100k

just as they are found in the scripture.856

[B14]

18. Great Vehicle of the four fearlessnesses

4.­998

“The four fearlessnesses”‍— P18k P25k P100k

the first and second take their own welfare as their point of departure; the third and fourth take the welfare of others as their point of departure.

4.­999

“Those leading a secluded religious life, and brahmins,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on‍—they are called “those leading a secluded religious life, and brahmins” because their wisdom makes them conceited. Others are called

“the gods, [and] Māra” P18k P25k P100k

because they have the perfect divine eye and know what others are thinking and so on. Others are called

“Brahmā” P18k P25k P100k

because of their miraculous powers [F.142.a] and because they are incredibly powerful.

4.­1000

“I see no cause”‍— P18k P25k P100k

in the sense that they do not see any contradiction at all that would turn into a reason to

“argue” P18k P25k P100k

with them.

4.­1001

“I, who have found happiness” P18k P25k P100k

teaches their body hair bristles857‍—that they are not nervous and so on. On account of that, they announce that theirs is

“the status of the dominant bull,” P18k P25k P100k

a thoroughbred, because their physical actions are completely purified.

4.­1002

“Found fearlessness” P18k P25k P100k

teaches they are not cowed and do not feel trepidation and so on when it comes to speaking. On account of that they

“roar” P18k P25k P100k

like

“the lion,” P18k P25k P100k

because their verbal action is completely purified.

4.­1003

“Found a ground for self-confidence” P18k P25k P100k

teaches they have no doubt or feeling of being cowed in their minds. On account of that they,

“Brahmā-like, turn the wheel” P18k P25k P100k

because their mental actions are completely purified.

Similarly, connect these with them all.

19. Great Vehicle of the four detailed and thorough knowledges

4.­1004

“The detailed and thorough knowledge of dharmas,858 detailed and thorough knowledge of meanings859”‍— P18k P25k P100k

realization as the speech of a tathāgata is the many scriptures in the form of the collections of statements, collections of names, and collections of syllables. It is detailed and thorough knowledge of dharmas because on account of it detailed and thorough knowledge of dharmas comes about, or because it is detailed and thorough knowledge of dharmas. The “meanings” are the collections of subject matter. The knowledge of those is “the detailed and thorough knowledge of meanings.”

4.­1005

Alternatively, “dharmas” are all cause and condition dharmas. The knowledge of them is “detailed and thorough knowledge of dharmas.” The knowledge of all the dharmas that are dependently originated results is “detailed and thorough knowledge of meanings.”860

4.­1006

Alternatively, “dharmas” are wholesome and unwholesome dharmas that have maturations. The knowledge of them is “detailed and thorough knowledge of dharmas.” The “meanings” are obscured, unobscured, and neutral dharmas. The knowledge of those is “detailed and thorough knowledge of meanings.”861

4.­1007

Alternatively, “dharmas” are all the dharmas [F.142.b] that are defilement and purification side dharmas when the truths of origination and the path are realized. The knowledge of them is “detailed and thorough knowledge of dharmas.” The “meanings” are all the dharmas included in the truth of suffering and the truth of cessation. The knowledge of those is “detailed and thorough knowledge of meanings.”

4.­1008

Alternatively, “dharmas” are all the intentions, tendencies, behaviors, beliefs, faculties, and so on of trainees. The knowledge of them is “detailed and thorough knowledge of dharmas.” The “meanings” are trainees who understand by way of a brief indication and by detailed explanation, those who need to be led and who are literalists,862 those who have big and little afflictions, those who have sharp and dull faculties, and those who have good fortune and have no good fortune, and so on. The knowledge of those is “detailed and thorough knowledge of meanings.”

4.­1009

“Creative explanations”‍— P18k P25k P100k

“creative explanation” is the ascertainment of statements through just those many sorts of collections of names, and so on, well known in the world. Alternatively, “creative explanation” dharmas are all the sounds863 and expressions of humans living on the eighteen big continents,864 living in the sixteen major countries,865 living in the ninety-eight outer surrounding territories, and in the central country; of all animals in their birthplaces, of ghosts, and beings in the hells; of all asuras, nāgas, gandharvas, and kiṃnaras; of siddhas and mantradhāras; of musicians and actors and so on; of the desire realm gods of the Cāturmahā­rājika, Trāyastriṃśa and so on; of all the classes of Māras; and of all the classes of Brahmā and Śuddhāvāsa gods. The knowledge of those is “detailed and thorough knowledge of creative explanations.”

4.­1010

The knowledge of just those three sorts of knowledge is

“detailed and thorough knowledge [F.143.a] of confidence giving readiness to speak.” P18k P25k P100k

The perfect demonstration, knowledge, and mastery866 of doctrine in harmony with the intentions and tendencies of those same beings is “detailed and thorough knowledge of confidence giving readiness to speak.”

4.­1011

In just a single instant, with the detailed and thorough knowledge of dharmas bodhisattvas take up perfectly the unbroken flows of the streams of doctrine of all buddhas that emerge in all regions of the world; in that very same instant, with the detailed and thorough knowledge of meanings they also take up the meanings of those doctrines; in that very same instant, with the detailed and thorough knowledge of creative explanations they demonstrate the doctrine with various creative explanations for various trainees in various regions of world; and with the detailed and thorough knowledge of confidence giving readiness to speak they cause those trainees to take up the true nature of dharmas directly.

20. Great Vehicle of the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha

4.­1012

As for the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha, tathāgatas

“do not go wrong.” P18k P25k P100k

In their activities they do not go wrong physically, verbally, or mentally.

4.­1013

When worthy ones go to town and so on to beg food they are hurt by savage elephants, horses, bulls, and dogs, and by thorn bushes, poisonous snakes and so on; in the jungle they get scared by robbers, tigers, and leopards.867 Tathāgatas never go wrong from a lack of knowledge in these ways that worthy ones do. Tathāgatas are never robbed of mindfulness; they undertake activities for beings and are never found to be at fault.

4.­1014

The ways tathāgatas carry themselves beautify the world. Looking around, peering, pulled in, and stretched out868 and so on, they make all humans, gods, and Brahmās, and even all animals, feel content. Thus, always while going and coming and so on [F.143.b] the soles of their feet do not touch the ground. Tathāgatas leave footprints of thousand-spoked wheels on the earth, and wherever they place their feet fragrant lotuses spring up.869 Even if an animal is touched by their feet, it feels content with a supreme pleasure for seven days, and even if it dies it is born in a good form of life such as a heaven. Clothes do not touch the tathāgatas’ bodies by four finger-widths and even a gusty wind cannot move them. The light from their bodies brings pleasure to all beings, even to those as far away as the Avīci hell. Hence, it says “tathāgatas do not go wrong physically.”

4.­1015

They870 also do not go wrong verbally because they speak at the right time, speak truthfully, speak pleasantly, and speak faultlessly. Their speech is separated from all faults because they do not needlessly repeat themselves, and they speak definitively, speak logically, and with a single statement cause all beings to understand in a single instant.

4.­1016

They also do not go wrong mentally because they are always in meditative absorption, are not robbed of mindfulness, and they know all dharmas‍—having no attachments or obscurations with respect to them‍—always seeing and acting spontaneously and without thought construction.

4.­1017

Thus, it says tathāgatas “do not go wrong.” This is the first distinct attribute.

“[They] do not shout out.” P18k P25k P100k

When worthy ones wander off the path in the forest they yell and shout out, or, because of the force of habit, bray out laughing or get the syllables in words wrong.871 Buddhas do not shout out like that because they do not get attached to or angry at any beings or any dharmas, and they have transcended all worldly dharmas, are always [F.144.a] in meditative equipoise, dwell without afflictions, and have destroyed all residual impressions.

4.­1018

Thus, it says “do not shout out.” This is the second distinct attribute.

“[They] are not robbed of mindfulness.” P18k P25k P100k

Tathāgatas are not like worthy ones who forget and drop the task at hand when they do not think about it and miss the opportunity, because they are never robbed of mindfulness when it comes to all the needs of beings, all dharmas, and all their activities. Thus, it says “not robbed of mindfulness.” This is the third distinct attribute.

4.­1019

“[They] do not have uncollected thoughts.” P18k P25k P100k

Worthy ones are in equipoise only when they are in meditative absorption, not at other times. Tathāgatas are not thus‍—whether they are in meditative absorption or not in meditative absorption, they are always in equipoise because they have completed the supreme, deep meditative stabilizations. This is the fourth distinct attribute.

4.­1020

“[They] do not discriminate differences.” P18k P25k P100k

Worthy ones see saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, defilement and purification dharmas, and so on as different. Tathāgatas do not. Tathāgatas always see beings as being the same, and dharmas as being the same. Governed by compassion and governed by nonconceptual knowledge, they do not discriminate a difference between saṃsāra and nirvāṇa,872 or bright and dark dharmas, or moral and immoral, or helpful and harmful, or destined for perfection and destined for wrong, or the finest beings and the lowest beings. [F.144.b] This is the fifth distinct attribute.

4.­1021

“[They] are not inconsiderately dispassionate.” P18k P25k P100k

Unlike worthy ones who inconsiderately ignore the welfare of beings, tathāgatas do not do so. They deem it something they can ignore only after considering what is and is not the right time, who has good fortune and who has no good fortune, and when it is not in vain and when it is in vain, not otherwise. This is the sixth.

4.­1022

“[They] are not deficient in yearning, are not deficient in perseverance, are not deficient in recollection, are not deficient in meditative stabilization, are not deficient in wisdom, are not deficient in liberation, and are not deficient in the insight into knowledge of liberation.” P18k P25k P100k

Worthy ones, because of their nature, do not have the “yearning” for the activities of buddhas because based on their range such things are naturally done by buddhas. They have yearning for just the activities of śrāvakas. Similarly, śrāvakas do not have buddha-level “perseverance, recollection, meditative stabilization, wisdom, liberation, and knowledge and seeing of liberation,” because they are “deficient” insofar as they do not obtain the seven dharmas, yearning and so on. Buddhas, though, have gained the special attributes. Because they have comprehended all dharmas they are not deficient in the slightest. This873 is because buddhas have an unbroken desire to do what is necessary for the welfare of all beings at all times; they have the desire to bring about within themselves the attributes of great love and great compassion and so on; and they have the unbroken desire to explain the doctrine, bring beings to maturity, and, having roused the thought of awakening,874 make unbroken the continuity of the Three Jewels.

4.­1023

Tathāgatas “persevere” [F.145.a] in everything. They never get physically tired and never get mentally tired.875 Tathāgatas teach the doctrine for the sake of a single being even for eons without taking a break; having passed through as many buddhafields as there are grains of sand in the Gaṅgā River, they go wherever there are beings for the buddhas to train.

4.­1024

Tathāgatas are “not deficient in recollection” either. Having become unsurpassed, perfect, complete buddhas, tathāgatas place on their path of recollection the thought activities, movements, intentions, tendencies, afflictions, faculties and so on of all past, future, and present beings; all the methods to train beings; all the needs of beings; all the deeds of buddhas; what the doctrines intend; and all to be seen, but they do not direct their minds to them after the event. The recollection of a tathāgata has no deficiency.

4.­1025

Tathāgatas are also “not deficient in meditative stabilization.” In a meditative equipoise on the suchness of all beings and all phenomena, all phenomena are placed in an equal state through the suchness that is a sameness. Hence, suchness is called “meditative stabilization.”876 That suchness, furthermore, is like space. In it there is no increase and there is no obscuration; it is as it is at all times, hence it is suchness. Hence their meditative stabilization has no deficiency.

4.­1026

They are also “not deficient in wisdom.” Thus, it says877 they have “the inexhaustible knowledge of the thought activities of all beings, the inexhaustible knowledge of the teaching of doctrine, the inexhaustible knowledge [F.145.b] for bringing beings to maturity, the inexhaustible knowledge of skill in the detailed and thorough knowledges” and so on.

4.­1027

They are also “not deficient in liberation.” As for “liberation,” śrāvaka liberation is intimately connected with words, pratyekabuddha liberation is intimately connected with conditions, and buddha liberation is intimately connected with the true nature of dharmas: these being liberation from the obscuration of affliction, liberation from obscuration to knowing, and, because it is the result, liberation through absorption, and liberation that is nonabiding nirvāṇa. All liberation is known to be inexhaustible and, serving like space, its work for the welfare of beings operates for as long as saṃsāra exists. Hence, they are “not deficient in liberation.”

4.­1028

Just as they are not deficient in liberation, so too they are “not deficient in knowledge and seeing of liberation.” This is the twelfth attribute.

4.­1029

“All physical actions are preceded by knowledge and informed by knowledge.” P18k P25k P100k

Others‍—worthy ones‍—engage in unintended physical, verbal, and mental actions, confess faults, and also do not have certain experiences because of earlier habit formations. Buddhas do not act in that way. Buddhas,878 even just by looking, train beings. They train them by saying something, by not saying anything, by taking a rest, and even by sleeping, going, coming, sitting, or lying down; by radiating out light from their body; by their major marks and minor signs; by taking a step; and by opening their eyes.

4.­1030

All the speech of the buddhas accomplishes all the needs of beings as well. It is not meaningless,879 [F.146.a] comes in many forms, and is endowed with sixty qualities880 in harmony with the intentions and latent tendencies of all beings.

4.­1031

All are

“mental actions” P18k P25k P100k

unconnected with the residual impressions left by afflictions, with the residual impressions left by conceptualizations, and with the residual impressions left by thought constructions. They are intimately connected with great love and great compassion and operate without straying from the very limit of reality, marked by the ultimate.

4.­1032

All three of these actions “are preceded by knowledge” because of the prior881 occurrence of knowledge; and all these three dharmas are “informed by knowledge” because of the force of knowledge that operates together with them.

4.­1033

Tathāgatas

“see past time with knowledge free from attachment and free from obstruction.” P18k P25k P100k

Worthy ones have knowledge of whatever they direct their energy toward, but their knowledge is attached to and obstructed by anything else. Tathāgatas are unlike them. Tathāgatas, in the manner of counting, know directly, and delineate and know exactly, as many buddhafields as there were in past times; as many tiny earth, water, fire, and wind particles as there were in those buddhafields; as many blades of grass,882 twigs on the trees, medicinal herbs, and forests as there were; as many families of beings as there were; the different statuses, colors, ages, shapes, facial expressions, mental activities, aspirations, faculties, and beliefs of those beings, as many as there were; as many buddhas as there were there, and as many doctrines as they taught; as many beings trained in the three vehicles as there were‍—as many śrāvakas as there were, as many pratyekabuddhas as there were, and as many bodhisattvas as there were; how long they were able to live, and their [F.146.b] meal times, clothing, and belongings, as many as there were; which eons those world systems burned up in, and how much destruction there was of them by water, fire, and wind; how much of the space element there was; as many configurations of the stars as there were, and as many mountains, ravines, waterfalls, lakes, and oceans as there were; as many villages, towns, cities, countries, kingdoms, and centers of empire as there were; as many divisions of markets as there were; as many fields, gardens, parks, and woods as there were; as many deaths, rebirths, and different forms of life of the beings as there were; the in and out breaths they took, as many as there were; the opening and shutting of the eyes of all beings there, as many as there were; and everything else like that as well, all of it, in one instant. The tathāgatas’ knowledge is similarly free from attachment and free from obstruction to everything in

“the future,” P18k P25k P100k

and similarly in

“the present” P18k P25k P100k

too. Those are

“the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha.” P18k P25k P100k

21. Great Vehicle of the dhāraṇī gateways

4.­1034

What are the dhāraṇī gateways? It is like this: there is the sameness of the way the letters work, the letters as gateways, and entrances through letters.

4.­1035

As for “dhāraṇī,” earlier883 in the explanation teaching the good qualities of bodhisattvas, the four‍—forbearance dhāraṇī, doctrine dhāraṇī, meaning dhāraṇī, and mantra dhāraṇī‍—are called dhāraṇī. The “gateways” of those dhāraṇīs are the letters. These four dhāraṇīs come about through the power of pondering those letters.

4.­1036

What is the way those letters work? “The way they work” is that through them the perfect meaning is thoroughly realized. The fact that the letters work in the same way is “the sameness of the way the letters work.” [F.147.a] Through all of the letters, a and so on, the nature of suchness that is “not produced” (anutpanna) and so on is thoroughly realized. This is “the sameness of the way the letters work.”P18k Having taken those samenesses as the objective support, knowledge arises, hence it says “the sameness of the way the letters work.”

4.­1037

Because the letters are the gateways to that, the letters are

“letters as gateways.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­1038

Because they enter in through the letters there is

“entrance through letters,” P18k P25k P100k

which is to say, that knowledge comes about through the force of the letters.

4.­1039

“The letter a is the gateway to all dharmas because they are unproduced from the very beginning (ādy-anutpannatvād).” P18k P25k P100k

The a is a gateway for gazing on all dharmas as they actually are because it causes engagement and is the cause. And why? Because they are unproduced from the beginning (ādi). Thus, from the beginning, during the period when all dharmas have stains, they are unproduced. So, when yogic practitioners, having projected the meaning unproduced onto the letter a, meditate on the meaning of being unproduced, then, through the force of habituation, just from having meditated on a so intensely they gain forbearance for all dharmas being “unproduced.”

4.­1040

Similarly, having projected the meaning

“without dirt (rajas)” P18k P25k P100k

onto

“ra,” P18k P25k P100k

just from having meditated on ra so intensely they gain forbearance for all dharmas being “without dirt.”

From that they become forbearance dhāraṇīs.

4.­1041

Thus, earlier in the explanation of the teaching in the Introduction chapter884 the way they are explained is that they are doctrine dhāraṇīs when they have become causes for perfectly bearing in mind, extremely swiftly, the collections of the expositions of doctrine in great detail by buddhas and bodhisattva great beings in the ten directions; they are meaning dhāraṇīs when they have become causes for perfectly bearing in mind the meanings of those doctrines; and they are secret mantra dhāraṇīs as bases (ādhārāṇi) of the secret mantras that stop the plagues and problems of all beings.

4.­1042

All of them, furthermore, arise with letters as their cause, so letters are “dhāraṇī gateways” because they are the gateways into the dhāraṇīs. The knowledge that comes about from taking those as a basis [F.147.b] is also called a “dhāraṇī gateway.”

4.­1043

“Unproduced,” P18k P25k P100k

and so on, are attributes of suchness, because it is like space, because just as space is “unproduced,” suchness is similarly unproduced; and because just as space is “without dirt,” suchness is similarly without dirt.

4.­1044

“Because they are ultimately without distinctions”‍— P18k P25k P100k

they are one because ultimately they are not different.

4.­1045

“Because of the way death and rebirth are unfindable” P18k P25k P100k

means because suchness is a state where a birth state and death state are unfindable.

4.­1046

“Because of the way names are unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because in suchness, as names, they are inexpressible.

4.­1047

“They transcend the ordinary world” P18k P25k P100k

because suchness transcends the world.

4.­1048

“Because the vine of existence885 and the causes and conditions have been destroyed”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because suchness in its nature destroys the causes and conditions of the vine of existence.

4.­1049

“Because tamed and staying tamed have a certain limit”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because the afflictions that are tamed, and the actions that have staying tamed as their intrinsic nature, do not exist in suchness, “tamed and staying tamed have a certain limit.”

4.­1050

“Because they are free from bonds”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because they are free from all three “bonds”: greed, hatred, and confusion.

4.­1051

“Because disorder has gone”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because any “disorder” or distraction that has come about through the force of afflictions, karma, and maturation has gone.

4.­1052

“Because attachment is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because the attachment that is an afflicted obscuration, the attachment that is a karmic obscuration, and the attachment that is a maturation obscuration are unfindable.

4.­1053

“Because the sound of speech paths has been cut”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because language that is in its nature the convention of speech has been cut.

4.­1054

“Because they do not wander [F.148.a] from suchness”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because they do not wander away from their own intrinsic nature, suchness.

4.­1055

“Because in fact they are not produced”‍— P18k P100k

because it is logical they are not produced.

4.­1056

“Because they have nothing to be pretentious about”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because the pretentiousness that is a secondary afflictive emotion, or that comes about from the affliction of conceptualization, does not exist.

4.­1057

“Because an agent is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because “an agent”‍—a person or Īśvara and so on that are a dissimilar cause‍—or things that are causes and conditions, are unfindable.

4.­1058

“They do not pass beyond sameness” P18k P25k P100k

means all phenomena do not pass beyond being the same.

4.­1059

“Because taking something as ‘mine’ is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because taking something as ‘mine’ because of craving does not exist.

4.­1060

“Because going is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because going to another birth based on a good form of life or a bad form of life does not exist.

4.­1061

“Because a standing place is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because the defining mark of a standing place does not exist.

4.­1062

“Because birth is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because a birth marked as having arisen from nonexistence does not exist.

4.­1063

“Because breath is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because it is feeble because it is weak.886

4.­1064

“Because a dharma is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because it does not exist as the mental image of a dharma.887

4.­1065

“Because888 a state the same as the sky is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because all dharmas cannot be apprehended because they are the same as the sky.

4.­1066

“Because extinction is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because an extinction marked by not being permanent is unfindable.

4.­1067

“Because knowledge is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because in the absence of a real basis to be known its defining mark does not exist.

4.­1068

“Because a cause is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because the mark of a cause does not exist.

4.­1069

Because destruction is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because destruction, the defining mark of disintegration, is unfindable.

4.­1070

“Because a beautiful skin color is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because suchness has no color and does not radiate because it has no light. [F.148.b]

4.­1071

“Because mindfulness is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because it is not within the range of knowledge that is mindful of suchness.

4.­1072

“Because calling out is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because it is not within the range of names.

4.­1073

“Because eagerness is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because all phenomena are inactive.

4.­1074

“Because density in dharmas is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because the idea of density is in error.

4.­1075

“Because establishment is unfindable”‍— P18k P100k

because an “establishment” would be an array of the compounded and that does not exist.

4.­1076

“Because conflict is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because it is separated from the conflict of afflictive emotion and from the conflict of conceptualization.

4.­1077

“Because a result is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because the mental image of a result is unfindable in all the phenomena that are the results.

4.­1078

“Because aggregates are unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because there are no masses of afflictions, karma, and maturation.

4.­1079

“Because old age is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because an old age marked by change from one state to another does not exist.

4.­1080

“Because conduct is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because the conduct of going and coming is unfindable.

4.­1081

“Because harm is unfindable”‍— P18k P25k P100k

because violence does not exist.

4.­1082

“Because grasping at something as ‘I’ is unfindable”‍— P18k P100k

because grasping at something as ‘I’ constitutes a view and that constitutes conceit, which does not exist.

4.­1083

“By which anything might be conventionally designated, or by which anything might be expressed, expounded”‍— P18k P25k P100k

a speaker’s duty‍—or

“by which anything might be… realized, or seen‍— P18k P100k

a listener’s duty.

4.­1084

“By which anything might be conventionally designated.” These are the noble and ignoble utterances based on sixteen conventional designations governed by having seen, heard, thought, and known, and also governed by not having seen, heard, thought, or known.889 [F.149.a] “By which anything might be expressed”: utterances based on a pot, a cloth, a bull, a horse and so on. “By which anything might be expounded”: utterances governed by the indication of qualifying attributes‍—long, short, light, dark, blue, yellow and so on.

4.­1085

Based on a listener also deducing the meaning, utterances “by which anything might be realized” are based on deducing, which cause it to be subsequently realized. Utterances “by which anything might be seen” are based on them seeing the meaning with direct perception.

4.­1086

“Will not become perplexed890 whatever the sound”‍— P18k P25k P100k

they will seek for the ultimate in all statements.

4.­1087

“Will succeed though the sameness of dharmas”‍— P18k P25k P100k

they will make a connection between all sounds and suchness.

4.­1088

“Skill in understanding sounds” P18k P25k P100k

is understanding the languages and thoughts of all beings.

4.­1089

“Mindfulness”891 P18k P25k P100k

is not forgetting.

4.­1090

“Intelligence” P18k P25k P100k

is wisdom that follows the ultimate constituted by the intellect, mental fortitude, and a quick grasp of a lot, based on which you say someone is “quick-witted.”

4.­1091

“Awareness” P18k P25k P100k

ranges over the conventional. The meaning of the rest is obvious.

7. How have they come to set out in the Great Vehicle?892

4.­1092

This has been the exposition of the Great Vehicle. Having thus completed the exposition of the Great Vehicle, now, setting the scene for the second of the questions893 with,

“Subhūti, in regard to what you have asked‍—‘How have bodhisattva great beings come to set out in the Great Vehicle?’ ” P18k P25k P100k

it says those who have set out on the following ten levels “come to set out in the Great Vehicle.” With this the Lord teaches that they have set out in the Great Vehicle and poses a question about the ten bodhisattva levels and what has to be done for the purifications.

4.­1093

“By all dharmas not changing place”‍— P18k P25k P100k

this teaches that suchness is like space and does not change places, and hence the knowledge that does not go on to some other place [F.149.b] is the cause of passing on to another level.

4.­1094

“But even though they do not falsely project the level of those dharmas… they still do the purification for a level”894 P18k P25k P100k

teaches the cause of the moving up to the next level. It means that because changing places does not exist, going does not exist, and coming and so on does not exist, they do not falsely project the level of those dharmas, but it is not that they do not do the work, so it is teaching the activity of the perfection of skillful means of bodhisattvas. As for the skill in means, even though the ultimate and the conventional modes seem to absolutely contradict each other, bodhisattvas achieve everything necessary without a contradiction.

4.­1095

First it gives an introductory explanation of those level purifications, and then in a later explanatory section it says,895

“Lord, what is done in purification of the surpassing aspiration of bodhisattva great beings occupying the first level?” P18k P25k P100k

and so on.

4.­1096

“For the sake of all beings they engage in the quest for knowledge of the Great Vehicle.”896 P100k

“Knowledge of the Great Vehicle” is the knowledge of a knower of all aspects. The “quest for” is making a prayer that is a vow for that, and producing the thought of it. Thus, it is seeking the level of a buddha for the sake of all beings. This is

“the purification of the basis for the benefit” P18k P25k P100k

of all beings.

[B15]

4.­1097

Among these, first, those who want to carry out purification must purify the

“aspiration.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­1098

Then there is the accomplishment. Because it has the benefit of all beings as its root, they must produce the thought to be

“beneficial.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­1099

Because that comes from thinking equally about all beings they must produce

“the same state of mind.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­1100

The first level is of the perfection of giving, so they must purify

“giving up things.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­1101

As a preliminary to reaching the pure levels,

“spiritual friends” P18k P25k P100k

are an absolute necessity, [F.150.a] so they must

“serve” P18k P25k P100k

4.­1102

them. Then they have to hear the true doctrine from spiritual friends, so they must

“seek the doctrine.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­1103

Because their mindstreams have not yet reached maturity they must remain in

“renunciation.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­1104

They must constantly and always

“long for the body of a buddha” P18k P25k P100k

and for buddhahood. As much as they are able, they have to bring beings to maturity without becoming discouraged when persevering, so they must give

“an exposition of dharmas.”897 P18k P25k P100k

4.­1105

And,898 starting from the first prayer that is a vow, they should have respect for

“truth statements.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­1106

These are linked up with

“the ten purifications.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­1107

On

“the second level,” P18k P25k P100k

the level of the perfection of morality, they

“pay attention to… morality,” P18k P25k P100k

and pay attention to

“a feeling of appreciation and gratitude” P18k P25k P100k

in order to increase love for all beings. They pay attention to

4.­1108

“patience” P18k P25k P100k

in order not to look at the shortcomings of beings; pay attention to

“great delight” P18k P25k P100k

in order to transform the mindstreams of beings into suitable vessels; pay attention to

“not ignoring any being” P18k P25k P100k

because they are the root of all undertakings; pay attention to

4.­1109

“compassion” P18k P25k P100k

in order to stop the idea of personal suffering; pay attention motivated by

“faith in gurus” P18k P25k P100k

in order to generate

“reverence,” P18k P25k P100k

and pay attention to

“the perfections” P18k P25k P100k

because they are the equipment for awakening. These are

“the eight attentions.” P18k P25k P100k

Connect it like this with them all.899

4.­1110

“In raising up and transforming wholesome roots for the purification of a buddhafield”900 P18k P25k P100k

they dedicate them, having planted roots for the purification of a buddhafield, thinking, “May these wholesome roots purify a buddhafield.” There is no “buddhafield” at all that is a real thing. It simply appears in this or that way to themselves and others. That locution is used just for the purification of beings.

4.­1111

“Not giving up dwelling in the forest”‍— [F.150.b] P18k P25k P100k

the locution “dwelling in the forest” here should not be taken to mean living in the woods. Here “dwelling in the forest” is dwelling with thoughts that are unmixed and abiding in isolation. The bodhisattvas’ thoughts become mixed through the force of attention to śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha thoughts. As it will say later,901

“Subhūti … these bodhisattva great beings who are dwelling isolated from attention connected with śrāvakas … and pratyekabuddhas … Subhūti, I have endorsed that as the bodhisattva great beings’ isolation … If bodhisattva great beings live day and night in this isolation they truly live in isolation.” P18k

4.­1112

And also,

“If they live in jungle, upland forest, and frontier retreats, they live…”902 P18k

4.­1113

Similarly, with the locution

“the qualities of the ascetic”903‍— P18k P25k P100k

you should take those as qualities that become causes for purifying conceptualization, not as being a refuse-rag wearer and so on. Take

“where all training is without movement”904 P18k P25k P100k

as the practice of the perfection of wisdom free from conceptualization.

4.­1114

“Not causing all the dharmas to come into being”905‍— P18k P25k P100k

all the dharmas have forsaken movement.906

4.­1115

“Their minds not connecting with the foundations of consciousnesses”907 P18k P25k P100k

means they are not adulterated and do not give rise to latent tendencies.

4.­1116

“By resorting to a view of the Buddha they do not see the Buddha.”908 P18k P25k P100k

With a view that apprehends something as the Buddha they think, “I have seen the Buddha,” persisting with a “view of the Buddha,” so “they do not see the Buddha.” This means the Buddha is seen with knowledge that does not apprehend anything. It is similar with Dharma and Saṅgha as well.

4.­1117

“ ‘All dharmas are empty,’ because they are empty of their own particular characteristics, not empty of emptiness.” [F.151.a] P18k P25k P100k

“All dharmas”‍—form and so on‍—do not exist as the particular characteristic of falsely imagined form and so on. Still, they are not nonexistent as the particular inexpressible characteristic that is the intrinsic nature of the ultimate, emptiness. This means they do not have to have the fear that comes about caused by the view that in emptiness everything is annihilated.

4.­1118

“Because the empty is an emptiness of its own particular characteristic, therefore emptiness does not oppose emptiness”‍— P18k P25k

this means were emptiness not to be empty of emptiness’s own particular characteristic, there would be something that is not empty, and “all dharmas are empty” and this particular characteristic of emptiness would be in opposition and there would then be an emptiness in opposition. Thus, even emptiness has not become some other dharma, “emptiness,” so it is asserted to be empty of emptiness’s own particular characteristic. Hence it is established that “all dharmas are empty” so “emptiness does not oppose emptiness.”

4.­1119

“Because the empty is the emptiness of emptiness and they do not cause emptiness to be realized in emptiness”‍— P18k

there is not a second emptiness in emptiness. Therefore, because there is no second emptiness, they do not cause emptiness to be realized in emptiness. Just that knowledge is the realization of emptiness.909

4.­1120

“Purification of the three spheres” P18k P25k P100k

is the purification of the three spheres of actions of body, speech, and thinking mind.

4.­1121

“Because of the purity of the field of beings”‍— P18k P25k P100k

the field of beings is purified because all beings are just tathāgata­garbha.

4.­1122

“Not adding to and not taking away”‍— P18k P25k P100k

not overly negating what exists is “not taking away”; not overly reifying what does not exist is “not adding to.” This means they see

“sameness” P18k P25k P100k

by not overly negating what really exists, and not overly reifying what really does not exist. [F.151.b]

4.­1123

“The absence of a realization of all dharmas”‍— P18k P25k P100k

they do not see the two‍—a realized or a realizer‍—so the

“realization of the way things are perfect… is the absence of a realization.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­1124

“The absence of habitual ideas about dual phenomena is the exposition of the one way things are.”910 P18k P25k P100k

To illustrate, just as space is a single entity undivided into different entities, similarly with suchness. Because it is always in the same form, there is “the exposition of the one way things are,” because “of the absence of habitual ideas about dual phenomena” existing and not existing, being a phenomenon and not a phenomenon, being permanent and impermanent, and so on.

4.­1125

“The views of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas”911‍— P18k P25k P100k

these should taken as any of those conceptualizations where śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha views have not been abandoned.

4.­1126

“All six faculties do not radiate out.”912 P18k P25k P100k

They are not scattered; they are collected together.

4.­1127

“What is not a level of attachment on account of unobstructed knowledge?”913 P18k P25k P100k

This means: What is the knowledge that is free from attachment and anger?

4.­1128

“It is attending on the Dharma”914‍— P18k P25k P100k

this is because it is said, “Whoever sees the Dharma sees the Buddha.”915

4.­1129

“Purifying the” P18k P25k P100k

field of my and others’

“minds”916‍— P18k P25k P100k

this is because there is no

“buddhafield” P18k P25k P100k

except the field of the mind, because it is simply just a representation.

4.­1130

“Matured meditative stabilization”917‍— P18k P25k P100k

at the eighth level there is no effort, so, ultimately, all the levels in which there is an effort at practice are completed, which is to say, wholesome dharmas abide in their matured form. Hence the meditative stabilizations that are the maturations of earlier absorptions in meditative stabilization are spontaneously drawn into the bodhisattvas, so it says

“absorbed in meditation.” P18k P25k P100k

4.­1131

“A river of confidence”918 P18k P25k P100k

means a continuum of confidence, a demeanor, a confidence that arises continually. [F.152.a]

4.­1132

“Taking birth miraculously”‍— P18k P25k P100k

from the eighth level they do not gestate in a womb. They make such a demonstration only for the sake of bringing beings to maturity.

4.­1133

“Śuklavipaśyanā level” P18k P25k P100k

is the devoted course of conduct level;

4.­1134

“Gotra level” P18k P25k P100k

is the great forbearance level;

4.­1135

“Aṣṭamaka level” P18k P25k P100k

is the level of a candidate for the result of stream enterer, because it is the eighth counting down from recipient of the result of worthy one;

4.­1136

“Darśana level” P18k P25k P100k

is the level of recipient of the result of stream enterer;

4.­1137

“Tanū level” P18k P25k P100k

is the level of a once-returner, because with the exception of the remaining attachments that have been severely depleted, attachments and so on to sense objects have ended; and

4.­1138

“Vītarāga level” P18k P25k P100k

is the level of a non-returner, because the desire to experience sense objects, and malice, have been perfectly cut, so it is free from attachment and so on to sense objects. The

4.­1139

“Kṛtāvin level” P18k P25k P100k

is the level of a worthy one. The comprehension that “the work to be done is done” is “knowledge that it is done.”919 Because of having that, the “one with knowledge that it is done”920 is the worthy one. Alternatively, Kṛtāvins have as their nature a comprehension of what has been done, and their level is the Kṛtāvin level.

8. From where will the Great Vehicle go forth?921

4.­1140

Having thus taught who has set out in the Great Vehicle, then, taking the third question922‍—“From where will that vehicle go forth?”‍—as its point of departure, it says

“it will go forth from the three realms and will stand wherever there is knowledge of all aspects.” P18k P25k

4.­1141

Because the Śrāvaka and Pratyekabuddha Vehicles also “go forth from the three realms,” to make it clear it says “it will go forth from the three realms and will stand in the knowledge of all aspects.” Thus, it teaches two functions of the Great Vehicle, because it says about the Great Vehicle that “it will stand in [F.152.b] the knowledge of all aspects.”

4.­1142

“Furthermore, by way of nonduality”‍— P18k P25k

this is teaching that a different result does not exist, to those who come at it incorrectly, thinking “there are two, so they are different.” In the Great Vehicle, during the result period there is simply a state of awakening, so there is no difference between the Great Vehicle and the knowledge of all aspects.

4.­1143

They are therefore a “nonduality,” and hence it says that these two dharmas

“are not conjoined and not disjoined,” P18k P25k

and so on. It is teaching that they are not marked as being the same or different. In regard to their being “not conjoined and not disjoined,” they are “not conjoined” because they are not one; they are “not disjoined” because they are not different. They are

4.­1144

“formless” P18k P25k

because they do not cause anything to become firmly planted.923 They

4.­1145

“cannot be pointed out,” P18k P25k

because they cannot be shown. These two teach that there is no grasper or grasped. There is no grasper because there is nothing causing anything to become firmly planted. There is no grasped because they cannot be shown. They

4.­1146

“do not obstruct”‍— P18k P25k

this is teaching that there is no object or object-possessor because they are not marked by obstructing, as are a faculty and an object. Because they do not have marks and hence have “no mark,” and because both, without marks, have a single mark, it says they

“have only one mark‍—that is, no mark.” P18k P25k

4.­1147

“Because, Subhūti, a dharma without a mark is not going forth, nor will it go forth, nor has it gone forth.” P18k P25k

Because thoroughly established dharmas are free from all falsely imagined marks, they are in their nature purified. They have, therefore, in their nature already gone forth, so they do not, plucked out of thin air, go forth.

4.­1148

“Subhūti, someone who would assert that dharmas without marks go forth might as well assert of suchness that it goes forth,” P18k P25k

and so on, teaches in detail [F.153.a] that they do not, plucked out of thin air, go forth.

4.­1149

Suchness in its very nature is not stained by anything, and like space does not go forth. Therefore it says,

“Subhūti, the intrinsic nature of suchness does not go forth from the three realms.” P18k

4.­1150

“Suchness is empty of the intrinsic nature of suchness.” P18k

The falsely imagined “intrinsic nature of suchness” does not exist at all in “suchness,” so because of what will it go forth from there?924

4.­1151

I have already explained “suchness” and so on, ending with

“the inconceivable element,” P18k P25k

earlier.925

4.­1152

“The abandonment element, the detachment element, and the cessation element”‍— P18k P25k

that “suchness” is itself called the abandonment element because it causes the abandonment of all thought constructions that are afflicted obscurations and obscurations to knowledge; it is called the detachment element because it causes separation from attachment to the three states of being and is beyond all worlds; and it is called the cessation element because it causes the cessation of all suffering.

4.­1153

The five words926‍—

“name… causal sign… conventional term… communication… or a designation”‍— P18k P25k

incorporate the falsely imagined. To illustrate, “cow” said of the materiality of a cow is a name; its dewlap, hump, and so on are its causal sign; “the one that has the red calf,” “the one that has the white calf” are conventional terms; “bring the cow here and milk it!”927 is a communication; and all expressions are designations.

4.­1154

The five words‍—

“nonproduction… nonstopping… nondefilement… nonpurification… and not occasioning anything”‍— P18k P25k

incorporate the thoroughly established. It is nonproduction because it does not arise; it is nonstopping because it does not stop; it is nondefilement because it is not stained; [F.153.b] it is nonpurification because it is naturally pure; and it is not occasioning anything because the occasioning of anything that causes purification does not exist.

9. Where will that Great Vehicle stand?

4.­1155

Now, taking the fourth question928‍—“Where will that vehicle stand?”‍—as its point of departure, it says

“that vehicle will not stand anywhere.” P18k P25k

Just as space does not stand anywhere, similarly the Great Vehicle, reaching the end in the form of the dharma body, does not stand anywhere either. This is teaching not just that the Great Vehicle does not stand, but that all falsely imagined and thoroughly established dharmas do not stand anywhere either.

4.­1156

“Because no dharma stands”‍— P18k P25k

a falsely imagined phenomenon does not exist, so it does not stand anywhere. As for the thoroughly established phenomenon, it does not stand anywhere because a basis and that which is based on that do not exist.

4.­1157

“And yet, Subhūti, that vehicle will stand by way of not standing” P18k P25k

teaches that just “not standing” is conventionally labeled its “stand.” Therefore, it says

“suchness does not stand or not stand.” P18k P25k

4.­1158

It “does not stand” because ultimately it does not have the mark of that which is based on something; and it “does not not stand” either, because conventionally it stands marked by not standing.

4.­1159

Similarly, connect the marks of standing and not standing with them all.

“That vehicle, standing by way of not standing and by way of not moving, will not stand anywhere.”929 P18k P25k

4.­1160

It does not stand anywhere as a real basis so it says “not standing”; and it stands with the mark of not standing, is that which is based on something, and is without error, so it says “standing.”

10. Who will go forth in this vehicle?

4.­1161

The fifth question is,930

“Who will go forth in” P18k P25k

that? That vehicle is

“the Great Vehicle.” P18k P25k

4.­1162

“One who [F.154.a] goes forth” P18k P25k

is the person;

“by which one goes forth” P18k P25k

is the path dharmas “by which”‍—the cause on account of which‍—one goes forth; and

“from where one goes forth” P18k P25k

is from suffering existence.

4.­1163

“You cannot apprehend a self because it is extremely pure” P18k P25k

teaches that if they grasp a “self” and so on, and form and so on, it spoils the thoroughly established phenomenon that is absolutely pure.

4.­1164

“Lord, what do you not apprehend such that all these dharmas are not apprehended?”931 P18k P25k

This is a question about the reason why all that has been said before cannot be apprehended. It has three connected sections. The first connected section,932

“not apprehending suchness” P18k P25k

and so on, is the reason those dharmas cannot be apprehended.

4.­1165

Then the second connected section is the qualm,

“And why” P18k P25k

is suchness and so on not apprehended? And where it says

“because of not apprehending” P18k P25k

the defining mark of those, of

“suchness” P18k P25k

and so on, they are

“not apprehended.” P18k P25k

4.­1166

Then in the third connected section all the emptinesses, and the dharmas‍—the levels and so on‍—are

“not apprehended.” P18k P25k

Refer

“the Śuklavipaśyanā level” P18k P25k

only to the period of special insight on the devoted course of conduct level.

4.­1167

“Gotra level” P18k P25k

indicates all the periods of the wholesome roots that are aids to knowledge that penetrates reality.

11. It surpasses the world with its gods, humans, and asuras and goes forth. Is that why it is called a great vehicle?

4.­1168

You may think: the Great Vehicle, where it says,933

“Lord, you say this‍—‘Great Vehicle,’ ” P18k P25k

has already been explained before, so what is the context here? In response, we say that is true, but earlier the explanation of the words was in the context of those who “have set out in the Great Vehicle,” teaching that the practice dharmas in the context of setting out, from the perfections and so on up to the dhāraṇī doors, are the Great Vehicle. [F.154.b] Now, where it says “from where that vehicle goes forth” and so on, in the part of the text about going forth, it is giving an exposition of the resultant Great Vehicle as the state of a buddha.934 So now, for this resultant Great Vehicle, an exposition has to be given of the creative explanation of Great Vehicle and of the Great Vehicle dharmas. That is the context.

4.­1169

“It surpasses the world with its gods, humans, and asuras and goes forth; that is why it is called a great vehicle.” P18k P25k

Here a going is called a vehicle. The great going forth is the Great Vehicle. Because it surpasses the three worlds and is a definite emergence from them all, that going forth is bigger, hence it is called a great vehicle.935

12. That vehicle is equal to space

4.­1170

“That Great Vehicle is equal to space”936 P18k P25k

establishes the greatness of true reality.937 Because of a threefold reason it is taught to be equal to space:938

it has a great amount of room;

its production, stopping, and so on do not exist; and

it is not included in the three times.

4.­1171

“To illustrate, just as space” P18k P25k

definitely, in a single instant,

“has room”‍— P18k P25k

places for all kinds of behavior all

“beings” P18k P25k

want to engage in‍—similarly, in this

“Great Vehicle,” P18k P25k

in a single instant all beings come together at the same time, without any problem at all, even though they are established in the places for all-knowledge, for the knowledge of path aspects, and for the knowledge of all aspects.

4.­1172

“To illustrate,” P18k P25k

it is not suitable to say of

“space” P18k P25k

at the time that it was

“coming,” P18k P25k

“originated,” or was

“going,” P18k P25k

“stopped,” or was

“remaining,” P18k P25k

based on “remaining for a moment”‍—so too for

“the Great Vehicle.” P18k P25k

4.­1173

“To illustrate,” P18k P25k

you cannot say ‘space happened at that earlier time, will happen at that future time, or exists in the time in between’‍—so too for

“the Great Vehicle.” P18k P25k

They are taught in that sequence in three connected sections.939 [F.155.a]

4.­1174

Then the Lord, having delighted in that section spoken by the elder, explains, in the order of the prior passage, that the six perfections and so on included in the dharma body constituted out of the maturation dharmas are the Great Vehicle. Having thus taught the Great Vehicle as the six perfections and so on,940 then, in reference to the five statements of the elder,941 that

“it surpasses the world with its gods, humans, and asuras and goes forth; … that vehicle is equal to space… to illustrate, Lord, just as space has room for infinite, countless beings beyond measure, … you cannot apprehend coming or going… [and] you cannot apprehend a prior limit or a later limit,” P18k P25k

the Lord says what he said, with

“Furthermore, Subhūti, where you have said, ‘This vehicle surpasses the world with its gods, humans, and asuras and goes forth,’ ” P18k P25k

and so on, and gives a detailed exposition of each.

4.­1175

What does it teach, where it says942

“Subhūti, if the desire realm were to be factual, unmistaken,” P18k P25k

and so on? It is teaching that if all dharmas‍—the form realm and so on‍—are taken to be not falsely imagined and not unreal, were they taken to be thoroughly established, truly real entities, then this Great Vehicle would not go forth from them, and would not abandon them. But all those dharmas are falsely imagined, are unreal, and thus this Great Vehicle does abandon them.

4.­1176

Construe

“Subhūti, if the desire realm were to be factual, unmistaken, unaltered, [F.155.b] not an error, reality, the real,” P18k P25k

and so on‍—with: if the desire realm

“were to be existent, not nonexistent.”943 P18k P25k

4.­1177

If the desire realm “were to be,” that is to say, were it “not nonexistent,” it would exist with the threefold mark of a thoroughly established phenomenon, a true phenomenon, and an uncompounded phenomenon. There, the three terms, “factual, unmistaken, and unaltered,” teach the mark of the thoroughly established; the five terms, “not an error, reality, the real,” and

“true, as things are,” P18k P25k

teach a true phenomenon; and the four terms,

“permanent, stable, eternal, qualified by not changing,” P18k P25k

teach the mark of the uncompounded.

4.­1178

There, the mark of the thoroughly established is threefold: the thoroughly established that is indestructible, the thoroughly established without error, and the thoroughly established that does not alter. “Factual” teaches the thoroughly established that is indestructible, “unmistaken” teaches the thoroughly established without error, and “unaltered” teaches the thoroughly established that does not alter.

4.­1179

The mark of a true phenomenon is also fivefold. The not-an-error mark is, for example, like the nonexistence of being in error about water in a mirage. “Not an error” teaches that. The mark of an intrinsic nature is, for example, like the real thing that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature944 in a magically produced illusion. “Reality” teaches that. The mark of existence is, for example, like the nonexistence of being marked as not existing in matted falling hairs,945 and so on. “The real” teaches that. The mark of the nondeceptive is, for example, like the nonexistence of the deceiving mark in the form of two moons and so on. “True” teaches that. The mark of being correct is, for example, like [F.156.a] the nonexistence of “permanent,” “happy,” “self” and so on being separated from being feasible. “As things are” teaches that.

4.­1180

The mark of the uncompounded is fourfold. About the mark of not being produced and not stopping it says “permanent”; about the mark of remaining constantly it says “stable”; about the mark of not being annihilated it says “eternal”; and about the mark of not changing it says “qualified by not changing.”

4.­1181

In

“Subhūti, it is because the desire realm is all a construction, a creation, a narrative,” P18k P25k

“a construction” teaches that it is not falsely imagined because constructed means not true;946 “a creation” teaches that because it is dependently established it is just the falsely imagined unreal; and “a narrative” teaches that because it is conventional it is just something to be said.

4.­1182

“Not existent, and nonexistent” P18k P25k

means it is nonexistent, it does not exist;

“the world with its gods, humans, and asuras” P18k P25k

is the three worlds. The locution “asuras” indicates the world below, “humans” indicates the world in between, and “gods” indicates the world above.

4.­1183

In this connected section, furthermore, it teaches the three realms, the aggregates, the sense fields, the six collections of consciousnesses, the six collections of contacts, the six collections of feelings, the six elements, and the twelve links of dependent origination; suchness, unmistaken suchness, and unaltered suchness; the true nature of dharmas,947 the dharma-constituent, the establishment of dharmas, the certification of dharmas, the very limit of reality, and the inconceivable element; the six [F.156.b] perfections, all the emptinesses, the side of awakening and so on ending with the buddhadharmas; the dharmas of the Gotra level and so on ending with the dharmas of the Buddha level; the Gotra level itself and so on ending with the Buddha level; all the productions of the thought; and the vajra-like knowledge, a great person’s major marks, light, the voice with sixty special qualities, the wheel of the Dharma, and beings.

4.­1184

There, it is the

“voice with sixty special qualities” P18k P25k

because, as Secrets of the Tathāgatas Sūtra says,948 it is

moist, pleasant, charming, captivating, pure, immaculate, clearly illuminating, modulated, worth listening to, impervious, low and sweet in tone, subdued, not harsh, not violent, tamed, pleasing to the ear, physically refreshing, mentally exciting, satisfying to the heart, a producer of joy and happiness, without an edge, worth fully understanding, worth reflecting on, clear, worth loving, worth delighting in, worth making fully known, worth causing reflection, logical, relevant, without repetition, a lion’s roar, an elephant’s bellow, a peal of thunder, a dragon lord’s speech, the music of the celestials, the sound of the cry of the cuckoo, the sound of the voice of Brahmā, the sound of the cry of the jīvaṃjīvaka, the mellifluous voice of the lord of gods, the beat of a drum, not overblown, not understated, with every word syntactically correct, [F.157.a] free of wrong usage, not wanting, not base, not miserable, joyful, comprehensive, comprehension, fluent, playful, and it completes all sounds, satisfies all senses, is blameless, does not waver, is not too quick,949 carries over the entire assembly, and is completely endowed with excellence.

4.­1185

It is

(1) “moist” because it firms up the wholesome roots of the mass of beings;950 (2) “pleasant” because it is a joy to contact in the here and now; (3) “charming” because it is about goodness; (4) “captivating” because of clear articulation; (5) “pure” because it is the unsurpassed, extraordinary subsequent attainment; (6) “immaculate” because it is free from all afflictions, bad proclivities, and residual impressions; (7) “clearly illuminating” because the words and syllables are heard; (8) “modulated” (valgu) because it has the quality of strength951 (balaguṇa) to overcome all ill-thought-out tīrthika prejudice; (9) “worth listening to” because it comes forth from practice; (10) “impervious”952 because it is not stymied by anybody else’s arguments; (11) “low and sweet in tone”953 because it is stimulating; (12) “subdued” because it counteracts attachment; (13) “not harsh” because it gently imparts training; (14) “not violent” because it teaches transcending that is perfect renunciation;954 (15) “tamed” because it teaches the discipline of the three vehicles; (16) “pleasing to the ear” because it counteracts distraction; (17) “physically refreshing” because it makes you collect your thoughts; (18) “mentally exciting” because it carries with it the joyfulness of special insight; (19) “satisfying to the heart” because it gets rid of doubt; (20) “a producer of joy and happiness”955 because it removes mistakes and uncertainty; [F.157.b] (21) “without an edge” because it does not make you feel sorry when you practice; (22) “worth fully understanding” because it is a basis for perfect knowledge arisen from listening; (23) “worth reflecting on” because it is a basis for perfect knowledge arisen from thinking; (24) “clear” because it is not a Dharma set forth by a tight-fisted teacher; (25) “worth loving” because it makes those who have reached their own goal love it; (26) “worth delighting in” because it makes those who have not reached their own goal delight in it; (27) “worth making fully known” because it makes the inconceivable dharmas perfectly visible;956 (28) “worth causing reflection” because it perfectly teaches the inconceivable dharmas; (29) “logical” because it does not contradict valid cognition; (30) “relevant” because it teaches trainees what they seek; (31) “without repetition” because it is not to no avail; (32) “a lion’s roar” because of frightening all the tīrthika communities; (33) “an elephant’s trumpeting” because it is a clear and high sound;957 (34) “a peal of thunder” because it is deep; (35) “a dragon lord’s speech” because it is worth keeping; (36) “the music of the celestials” because it is sweet; (37) “the sound of the cry of the cuckoo” because it naturally happens quickly;958 (38) “the sound of the voice of Brahmā” because it carries far; (39) “the sound of the cry of the jīvaṃjīvaka” because it is an auspicious omen preceding all spiritual achievement; (40) “the mellifluous voice of the lord of gods” because it is not something you transgress;959 (41) “the beat of a drum” because it precedes victory over all Māras and opponents; (42) “not overblown” because it is not praise that spoils; (43) “not understated” because it is not censure that spoils; (44) “with every word syntactically correct” because it follows in every respect the rules [F.158.a] in all the grammars; (45) “free of wrong usage” because a lack of mindfulness does not occasion it; (46) “not wanting” because at all times it serves the needs of disciples; (47) “not base” because it is not contingent960 on gifts and services; (48) “not miserable” because it is fearless;961 (49) “joyful” because happiness has come from it; (50) “comprehensive” because expertise in all areas of knowledge comes from it; (51) “comprehension”962 because it accomplishes all the needs of living beings; (52) “fluent” because it is without hiatuses; (53) “playful” because it comes in various figurations; (54) and it “completes all sounds” because one sound serves to represent different words in different languages; (55) “satisfies all senses” because one object serves to represent different objects; (56) “is blameless” because it is done in accord with the commitment; (57) “does not waver” because it is connected with future time;963 (58) is “not too quick”964 because it is unrushed; (59) “carries over the entire assembly” because those far and near in the assembly can hear it equally; and (60) is “completely endowed with excellence” because it is the thorough establishment of all ordinary meaning and example dharmas.965

This is the Master’s instruction.966

[B16]

4.­1186

Now, with,

“Subhūti, you said, ‘The Great Vehicle is equal to space,’ ” P18k P25k

and so on, it gives an explanation taking his second statement as its point of departure. It should be known as making a presentation of falsely imagined things with twenty-one aspects, and because those that are presented do not exist in this Great Vehicle, it is like space. The twenty-one forms presented are967 (1) direction; (2) shape; (3) color; (4) time; (5) decrease and increase and so on; (6) defilement and purification; (7) produced and stopping, [F.158.b] (8) wholesome and so on; (9) seen, heard and so on; (10) something that should be understood and so on; (11) a maturation and subject to maturation; (12) greedy and so on; (13) the constituent,968 the ten bodhisattva levels, Pramuditā and so on; (14) the ten levels, Śuklavipaśyanā… Gotra and so on; (15) the levels of noble beings; (16) the twos;969 (17) the Summary of the Doctrine;970 (18) the doors to liberation; (19) the found and so on; (20) secret and not secret and so on;971 (21) and discourse and so on.

4.­1187

Among these,

“decrease [and] increase” P18k P25k

are gradual;

“reduced” P18k P25k

is severed;

“produced,” P18k P25k

the arising of things at the beginning;

“stopping,” P18k P25k

perishing in a single instant;

“lasting,” P18k P25k

phenomena thus produced and stopping not being interrupted;

“nonlasting,”972 P18k P25k

interrupted and invisible; and

“last and then change into something else,” P18k P25k

a continuum with earlier and later specific parts that are dissimilar.

4.­1188

“[It is] not something that should be understood”‍— P18k P25k

because it is not a thing like form and so on that consciousness can penetrate. Consciousness cannot penetrate falsely imagined dharmas because in that state they are nonexistent.

4.­1189

“[It is] not something that should not be understood,” P18k P25k

because it is not totally nonexistent like a rabbit’s horns, and

“not something that should be thoroughly understood,” P18k P25k

and so on, because it is not realized as the truth.

4.­1190

“A maturation” P18k P25k

is that which is a result;

“subject to maturation” P18k P25k

is something that will mature.

4.­1191

“[It is] not found,” P18k P25k

because it is something that is not gained;

“not apprehended,” P18k P25k

because it is not an object within the range of the faculties;

“not discourse,” P18k

because you cannot convey it in words; [F.159.a] and

“not not discourse,” P18k

because conventionally you can indicate it with words. Put them together like that.

4.­1192

After that there is an explanation of the three973 statements, with,

“Subhūti, where you said, ‘To illustrate, Lord, just as space has room for infinite, countless beings beyond measure,’ ” P18k P25k

and so on.

4.­1193

“You should know, Subhūti, that because a being is not existent, space is not existent, and you should know that because space is not existent the Great Vehicle is not existent.” P18k P25k

What is the meaning of this? You should know that you enter into the selflessness of dharmas through the selflessness of persons, so, having earlier been engaged with “beings are nonexistent,” you become engaged with “space is nonexistent.” You become engaged with “the Great Vehicle is nonexistent” through “space is nonexistent.” Because they are nonexistent, the dharmas “infinite” and so on are nonexistent too, and similarly with all dharmas.974

4.­1194

“Suchness is nonexistent because beings are nonexistent.”975 P18k P25k

It should be understood that because “beings are nonexistent,” the falsely imagined suchness of form and suchness of sound and so on are nonexistent. Thus, the intention is this: because

“all dharmas are nonexistent,” P18k P25k

therefore it976 is

“like space,” P18k P25k

and therefore it

“has room.” P18k P25k

Because it is “nonexistent,” it is

“infinite” P18k P25k

and so on.

4.­1195

In this subsection977 of the text, the first subsection of that is

“because a being is not existent, space is not existent… because space is not existent the Great Vehicle is not existent.” P18k P25k

4.­1196

The second has those same three978 connected with

4.­1197

“infinite,” P18k P25k

the third connected with

4.­1198

“countless,” P18k P25k

and the fourth connected with

“beyond measure.” P18k P25k

4.­1199

The fifth has them connected with

“the dharma-constituent,”979 P18k P25k

and the sixth connected with

“suchness.” P18k P25k

4.­1200

In the seventh, having added on the thirteen980‍—

“self, a living being,” P18k P25k

and so on‍—they are connected with the last one,

“the very limit of reality.” P18k P25k

4.­1201

The eighth has just those connected with

“the inconceivable element,” P18k P25k

serving for981 the very limit of reality. [F.159.b]

4.­1202

The ninth has just those connected with dharmas‍—the

“form” P18k P25k

aggregate and so on; the tenth has just those connected with the six inner sense fields; the eleventh connected with the six outer ones;982 the twelfth connected with the six

“consciousnesses”; P18k P25k

4.­1203

the thirteenth connected with the six

“contacts”; P25k

4.­1204

the fourteenth connected with the six collections of

“feelings”; P18k P25k

4.­1205

the fifteenth connected with the six

“elements”; P25k

4.­1206

the sixteenth connected with

“dependent origination”; P25k

4.­1207

the seventeenth connected with the six983

“perfections”; P18k P25k

4.­1208

the eighteenth connected with all

“the emptinesses”; P18k P25k

4.­1209

the nineteenth connected with the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening; the twentieth connected with984

“the noble truths,” P25k

up to

“the dhāraṇī doors”; P25k

the twenty-first connected with985

“the ten powers,” P18k P25k

up to

“the distinct attributes of a buddha”; P18k P25k

4.­1210

the twenty-second connected with

“the Gotra level,” P18k P25k

up to

“the Kṛtāvin level”; P18k P25k

4.­1211

the twenty-third connected with persons, from

“stream enterer” P18k P25k

up to

“worthy one”; P18k P25k

4.­1212

the twenty-fourth connected with

“pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas, and buddhas”; P18k P25k

the twenty-fifth connected with the three

“vehicles”; P18k P25k

4.­1213

and the twenty-sixth subsection of the passage teaching with an analogy connected with

“nirvāṇa.” P18k P25k

These are the twenty-six subsections of the passage.

4.­1214

“In this vehicle you cannot apprehend ‘coming or going,’ and there is not even ‘remaining,’986 P18k P25k

and so on, teaches the fourth statement.987

4.­1215

“Subhūti, all dharmas are unmoving.988 They do not go anywhere, they do not come from anywhere, and they do not remain anywhere,” P18k P25k

because in the context of the final vehicle they are simply just suchness. They appear unmoving because they do not arise, stop, or remain.

4.­1216

“Basic nature… suchness… intrinsic nature”‍— P18k P25k

take that dharma-constituent itself, in the context of the final Great Vehicle level, as just “basic nature, [F.160.a] suchness, intrinsic nature,” and

“mark,” P18k P25k

because just that is the basic nature, not something else; just that is suchness, not something else; just that is intrinsic nature, not something else; and just that is the mark, not something else. It is simply just described differently from it.

4.­1217

There, the “unmoving” subsection is the first. Then you should connect those989 with the aggregates, sense fields, consciousnesses, contacts, feelings, six elements, links of dependent origination, perfections, and emptinesses; the applications of mindfulness up to the distinct attributes of a buddha; and suchness,990 unmistaken suchness, unaltered suchness, the true nature of dharmas, the dharma-constituent, the establishment of dharmas, the certification of dharmas, the very limit of reality, the inconceivable element, awakening, buddha, the compounded, and the uncompounded.

4.­1218

After that, in the statement,991

“You cannot apprehend that vehicle’s prior limit, cannot apprehend its later limit, and cannot apprehend its middle either. This is a vehicle equally of the three time periods. That is why ‘Great Vehicle’ is said,” P18k P25k

speaking about “time,” “three,” “equal,” and “vehicle” separately, it eliminates “time” with

“the past time period is empty of the past time period,” P18k P25k

and so on. It eliminates “equal” with

“the equality of the three time periods is also empty of the equality of the three time periods.” P18k P25k

4.­1219

It eliminates “vehicle” with

“the Great Vehicle is also empty of the Great Vehicle.” P18k P25k

4.­1220

It eliminates the bodhisattva being talked about in this part of the text with [F.160.b]

“the bodhisattva is also empty of the bodhisattva.”992 P18k P25k

4.­1221

It eliminates words for numbers with

“Subhūti, in emptiness there is no one, or two, or three,” P18k P25k

up to

“ten.” P18k P25k

4.­1222

Summing up in conclusion by saying,

“Therefore, this is a vehicle… equally of the three time periods,” P18k

what does that intend? Take “vehicle equally of the three time periods” as the final Great Vehicle, a Great Vehicle that is, in its nature, one alone because it is free of all differentiation. In it, “time,” “the equality of time,” “Great Vehicle,” and “bodhisattva” are all just simply emptiness. It eliminates them all, because “in this” all falsely imagined dharmas are nonexistent.

4.­1223

Even having thus eliminated993 them, because all are, in their nature, one, it sums it all up in conclusion with,

“Therefore, this is the vehicle of the bodhisattva great beings equally of the three time periods.” P18k P25k

4.­1224

Having thus taught in brief, it gives a detailed explanation with,

“In this Great Vehicle you cannot apprehend same or not the same,” P18k P25k

and so on, eliminating all the branches.

4.­1225

“Same, or not the same,” P18k P25k

that is to say, different. As for,

“you cannot apprehend greed or free from greed,” P18k P25k

and so on, connect “greed” with “not the same,” and “free from greed” with “same.”

4.­1226

Having thus taught that all the dharmas are not, as entities, two, with

“a past form, Subhūti, is empty of a past form,” P18k P25k

and so on, it names each separately and teaches that they do not exist.

4.­1227

“Given that you cannot apprehend even emptiness because it is empty of emptiness, how could you ever apprehend a past form in emptiness?” P18k P25k

This means “given that” when you describe an emptiness connected to form, as in “form is empty,” even that very emptiness [F.161.a] is also falsely imagined and does not exist, “how could” there “ever” be “a form in” that “emptiness”?

4.­1228

Having taught that

“you cannot apprehend” P18k P25k

the dharmas‍—

“the perfection of giving” P18k P25k

and so on‍—

“in the equality” P18k P25k

of the three periods of time, what does is intend by

“given that you cannot apprehend even equality in the equality…”? P18k P25k

4.­1229

At the level of the final Great Vehicle, all dharmas‍—the perfection of giving and so on‍—are in the nature of maturations and are fully engaged with emptiness, so even “the equality of the three periods of time” does not exist there, and the perfection of giving and so on included in the three periods of time do not exist either. Therefore, it says

“how could you ever apprehend the past, future, and present perfection of giving in the equality?” P18k P25k

Similarly, connect this with them all.

4.­1230

As for the subsections of this passage, they should be understood as:

the section eliminating the equality of the three time periods;

the section eliminating all dharmas based on pairs;

the section eliminating the three time periods in the five aggregate dharmas;

the section eliminating the five aggregate dharmas included in the three time periods in emptiness;

the section eliminating the six perfections in the equality of the three time periods;

the section eliminating emptiness in that [equality];994

the section eliminating the applications of mindfulness and so on, up to, finally, the distinct attributes of a buddha in just that [equality];

the section eliminating an ordinary person; and

the section eliminating śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas, and tathāgatas.

4.­1231

“Therefore, it is the Great Vehicle of the bodhisattva great beings.”995 P18k P25k

It explains through a creative etymology that because it is the vehicle of the great ones it is the Great Vehicle.

The remaining sixteen questions996

4.­1232

The elder Pūrṇa, setting the scene for what is going to be discussed [F.161.b] next, says:997

“Lord, tasked with the perfection of wisdom… this elder Subhūti thinks he has to give instruction in the Great Vehicle.” P18k P25k

4.­1233

Earlier,998 at the start of the explanation of advice and instruction, “The Lord said to venerable Subhūti, ‘Subhūti, … be confident in your readiness to give a Dharma discourse to the bodhisattva great beings about how bodhisattva great beings go forth in the perfection of wisdom.’ ” He tasked him with the perfection of wisdom. Now [Pūrṇa’s] statement, prompted by Subhūti’s explanation of the Great Vehicle, wants, by means of that, to introduce the path that is going to be discussed next.

4.­1234

“Let it not be the case, Lord, that I am giving instruction in the Great Vehicle, having violated the perfection of wisdom” P18k P25k

intends that the two‍—the perfection of wisdom and the Great Vehicle‍—are not different, so, by teaching the Great Vehicle, he has also taught the perfection of wisdom as well. So, it will make the statement at the end that999

“by giving instruction in the Great Vehicle you have given instruction in the perfection of wisdom, and by giving instruction in the perfection of wisdom you have given instruction in the Great Vehicle.” P18k P25k

4.­1235

The ten statements1000‍—

“Lord, one does not apprehend1001 a bodhisattva at the prior limit,” P18k P25k

and so on‍—teach the seed statements that are going to be discussed below.

4.­1236

Among them, “one does not apprehend a bodhisattva at the prior limit” teaches that one does not apprehend a bodhisattva in the three time periods: one that existed before, that will exist in the future, or that exists now.

4.­1237

One does not apprehend a bodhisattva at these three limits, so one is limitless. Therefore, having taught that a bodhisattva has no limits, it next says,

“Lord, one has to know the limitlessness of a bodhisattva [F.162.a] through the limitlessness of form,” P18k P25k

and so on. This means that one should know that all dharmas, “form” and so on, do not have the three limits so they are in a limitless state; a bodhisattva is similarly limitless.

4.­1238

To someone who has the idea, “When one says that because form and so on are limitless a bodhisattva is limitless, well then, form and so on would become a bodhisattva,” it says,

“Lord, even such an idea as ‘form is a bodhisattva’ does not exist and is not found,” P18k P25k

and so on.

4.­1239

Because one cannot apprehend a bodhisattva in the three periods of time one cannot apprehend a bodhisattva entity in form and so on, so a bodhisattva cannot be found. Because one cannot be found, the two,

“advice and instruction,” P18k P25k

do not exist either.

4.­1240

“So, Lord, I, who thus do not find a bodhisattva great being as anyone at all in any way at all,” P18k P25k

and so on, is a teaching with just the meaning as the earlier teaching.

4.­1241

“You say this, Lord, that is, ‘bodhisattva.’ It is just a word.” P18k P25k

This is teaching that because bodhisattvas cannot be, they are simply just imaginary. Having thus taught that ultimately a bodhisattva does not exist, to give an example it says,

“To illustrate, Lord, you say ‘self’ again and again, but it has absolutely not come into being.” P18k P25k

4.­1242

Having taught like that, next it teaches that form and so on, both marked by coming into being and marked by not coming into being, do not exist. Among them, about the nonexistence of the mark of coming into being, it says,

“Lord, given that all phenomena thus have no intrinsic nature, what is that form that has come into being?” P18k P25k

and so on. [F.162.b] Form and so on are like an illusion, so they have nonexistence and nonproduction for their nature. Hence, they are not marked by coming into being.

4.­1243

After that, in order to teach the nonexistence of the mark of not coming into being, it says,

“Lord, what has1002 come into being is not form,” P18k P25k

and so on. What it means is the mark of not coming into being is the mark of the thoroughly established; it is not falsely imagined form and so on.

4.­1244

Having thus taught that because bodhisattvas are falsely imagined phenomena they are not suitable to be given advice, now, based on the bodhisattva who is the ultimate true nature of dharmas, it says,

“Lord, you cannot apprehend those bodhisattva great beings who would practice for awakening other than those who have not come into being, so does what has not come into being give advice and instruction in a perfection of wisdom that has not1003 come into being?” P18k P25k

4.­1245

What this means is the ultimate bodhisattvas have the dharma-constituent as their intrinsic natures, so they are marked by not having come into being, and because they are beyond all thought construction it is not feasible to give them advice and instruction.

4.­1246

Having thus taught the ultimate bodhisattva, with

“one should know that when the mind of a bodhisattva given such instruction is not cowed… then that bodhisattva great being is practicing the perfection of wisdom,” P18k P25k

it teaches the practice of the ultimate.

4.­1247

From here on, from among the twenty-nine questions and statements set forth earlier,1004 taking1005

“you are giving instruction in the Great Vehicle in harmony with the perfection of wisdom” P18k P25k

as the point of departure, that array of twelve authoritative statements of specific instructions1006 must now be taught, and having been taught, must also be explained.

4.­1248

“Venerable Śāriputra, because beings are nonexistent one does apprehend [F.163.a] a bodhisattva at the prior limit… at the later limit… or in the middle”1007 P18k P25k

teaches that persons are without a self. Therefore, bodhisattvas did not exist at a time in the past, bodhisattvas will not exist at a time in the future, and bodhisattvas do not exist in the present time, and so

“one does not come close to a bodhisattva”1008 P18k

in the three periods of time.

4.­1249

After that,

“because form is nonexistent one cannot find a bodhisattva at the prior limit,” P18k P25k

and so on, teaches that dharmas are selfless.

4.­1250

They all

“are not two, nor are they divided” P18k P25k

intends that all are marked as thoroughly established so all are the same.

4.­1251

“Venerable Śāriputra, because suchness is nonexistent one does not come close to a bodhisattva at the prior limit,”1009 P18k P25k

and so on. The suchness of the three periods of time and the suchness of a bodhisattva is falsely imagined and therefore does not exist.

4.­1252

Why, Venerable Śāriputra, should one know the limitlessness of a bodhisattva through the limitlessness of form…?”1010 P18k P25k

teaches the second statement, because there is no prior limit and so on of those that are not limited.

4.­1253

The third statement,

“Venerable Śāriputra, form is empty of form,”1011 P18k P25k

means form that is the thoroughly established true dharmic nature is empty of the falsely imagined form. Therefore, it says

“in emptiness form does not exist,” P18k P25k

which means a falsely imagined form does not exist in the emptiness of form.

4.­1254

The fourth statement,

“form is not found in form, form is not found in feeling,”1012 P18k P25k

and so on, teaches that you do not find any dharmas when you seek for them in their own intrinsic nature or in something else’s intrinsic nature. This is explaining1013

“as anyone at all in any way at all.” P18k P25k

4.­1255

The fifth statement is1014

“this‍—that is, ‘bodhisattva’‍—is [F.163.b] a name plucked out of thin air.” P18k P25k

Given that the nature of a bodhisattva is the emptiness of ultimate reality, conventionally, in order to give it a label, it is given the name “bodhisattva” plucked out of thin air. “Out of thin air” means not there intrinsically.

4.­1256

“Because the words for all dharmas do not come from anywhere in the ten directions and do not go anywhere” P18k P25k

teaches that they do not exist. In reality they “do not come from anywhere” when they arise and “do not go anywhere” when they stop.

4.­1257

Having taught that not only is a bodhisattva just simply a name like that, but that all dharmas also do not come from anywhere and do not go anywhere, it sums up in conclusion with

“so too the word for a bodhisattva does not come from anywhere and does not go anywhere.” P18k

This means “the words for all dharmas,” “a bodhisattva,” and also “the word for a bodhisattva” do not exist.

4.­1258

Having thus taught that words do not exist, with

“because these‍—that is, ‘form,’ ‘feeling,’ ‘perception,’ ‘volitional factors,’ and ‘consciousness’‍—are simply just designated by names,” P18k P25k

and so on, teaching that falsely imagined dharmas are simply words, it then, with thus

“that name”‍— P18k P25k

the designation ‘form’‍—

“is not form,” P18k P25k

and so on, teaches that the form and so on that is the true nature of dharmas, and those names, are not different. It means “that”‍—the falsely imagined name “form”‍—is “ultimate form.”1015

4.­1259

Having taught that, next,

“because a name is empty of the intrinsic nature of a name. That which is empty is not the name,” P18k P25k

teaches the reason that the name and emptiness are different. It means a falsely imagined name is empty of the intrinsic nature of a name, and its emptiness is not the intrinsic nature of a name. Thus, [F.164.a] because names do not exist, and ultimate dharmas exist, those dharmas are the basic nature of the names. Hence the ultimate bodhisattva also does not have a name as its intrinsic nature. So, in order to teach that “bodhisattva” is a designation plucked out of thin air, it says

“so, one says ‘this, that is, “bodhisattva,” is just a word.’ ” P18k P25k

4.­1260

Similarly, repeat1016 this in the same way with the constituents, sense fields, and dependent origination.

4.­1261

As for the perfections and so on being different, it says

“in that perfection of giving also there are no words and in those words there is no perfection of giving.” P18k P25k

The perfection of giving and so on are just falsely imagined, and the words are just falsely imagined too. The words are not lodged in the perfection of giving and the perfection of giving is not lodged in the words; both are like illusions because they are not real things. Therefore, it says

“both those words and that perfection of giving do not exist and cannot be found.” P18k P25k

Connect this with them all in the same way.

4.­1262

The sixth statement is,

“Venerable Śāriputra, given that a self absolutely does not exist and is not found, how could it have ever come into being?”1017 P18k P25k

and so on. Given that persons‍—a “self” and so on‍—and dharmas‍—“form” and so on‍—“absolutely do not exist,” are not there, how could they “come into being” and originate? Hence it teaches all dharmas as marked by absolutely not coming into being. Take “does not come into being” as emptiness.

4.­1263

The seventh statement is,

“An intrinsic nature arisen from a union does not exist.”1018 P18k P25k

“An intrinsic nature” is an essence. Just that which is its own, not something else’s, is its “essence.” All dharmas, form and so on, [F.164.b] originate dependently, not independently. A person originates dependent on something else. They are just there because of something else; they are not there because of themselves. Therefore,

“given that all dharmas thus are the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature, … an intrinsic nature… does not exist.” P18k P25k

4.­1264

Therefore, that which is the emptiness that serves to enable1019 falsely imagined form and so on is not a dependent origination; it is not contingent on something else, so it is feasible that just that is the intrinsic nature of all dharmas. Hence it says that “an intrinsic nature arisen from a union does not exist.” This means that what has arisen from a union is not an intrinsic nature. When everything has come together it arises, hence “arisen from a union.” This means arising from a collection of causes and conditions.

4.­1265

The explanation of that is in three subsections. One is “it has no intrinsic nature because it is arisen from a union”; one is “it has no intrinsic nature because it is impermanent and so on”; and one is “it has no intrinsic nature because it is unmoved and is not destroyed.”

4.­1266

“Furthermore, Venerable Śāriputra, all dharmas are impermanent but not because anything disappears.”1020 P18k P25k

The Śrāvaka Vehicle takes as “impermanent” a dharma that has arisen, parted, and is destroyed. Here it teaches the mark of impermanence as not being like that; it is

“not because anything disappears.” P18k P25k

4.­1267

In this Great Vehicle it says “the meaning of impermanence is the meaning of a nonexistent thing,”1021 so take the word impermanence as nonexistence. How so? The opposite of permanence is impermanence. Take something permanent to be something always there, and hence take impermanent to be something that is always not there. What is called impermanent is always, in all time periods, not there, therefore it says “the meaning of a nonexistent thing is the meaning of impermanence.”1022 What it means is because all falsely imagined dharmas, form and so on, are impermanent‍—that is, are not existent things‍—there is nothing at all that has changed from existing.1023 [F.165.a]

4.­1268

In

“Venerable Śāriputra, it is because something impermanent is a nonexistent thing and has come to an end,”1024 P18k P25k

take the word impermanent‍—not existing and not a real thing‍—as emptiness; construe the words come to an end with falsely imagined dharmas. Thus, it means an impermanence is an emptiness, falsely imagined dharmas have come to an end, a nonexistence. Thus “all dharmas are impermanent” is in fact teaching that “all dharmas do not exist as real things.” It is therefore teaching the thoroughly established nature of all dharmas marked by suchness‍—that “all dharmas are the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature.”

4.­1269

“Similarly, all dharmas are suffering.” P18k P25k

All falsely imagined dharmas‍—form and so on‍—when settled down on and appropriated in the form of real things, become the cause of the three sufferings, so they are said to be “suffering.” When falsely imagined forms are understood in their nature to be unreal things, are not settled down on and are forsaken, they become the cause of the nonexistence of suffering and are therefore pleasure. Therefore, suffering should be called falsely imagined dharmas.1025 “All dharmas are suffering” teaches that the falsely imagined phenomena are exclusively marked by not being real. Because they are not real in their nature all dharmas are “suffering.”

4.­1270

Here too construe suffering with “but not because anything disappears.” This means that suffering does not occur because anything that exists in the form of pleasure has disappeared; it is suffering because it is not real.

4.­1271

Similarly,

“suffering is a nonexistent thing and has come to an end.” P18k P25k

This means falsely imagined dharmas that have come to an end, that are not real things and do not exist, but have been erroneously settled down on are “suffering.” Also, they are

“selfless,” [F.165.b] P18k P25k

“not because anything disappears,” but because they are selfless and without an intrinsic nature.

4.­1272

“Something selfless is a nonexistent thing and has come to an end” P18k P25k

means just that nonexistence of dharmas that have come to an end is “selfless.” Construe them all like that.1026

4.­1273

“All dharmas are neither unmoved nor destroyed.”1027 P18k P25k

This also teaches a reason that they are the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature. You can suppose falsely imagined phenomena have a certain intrinsic nature that might be “unmoved,” permanent, or might be “destroyed,” impermanent. Because, like an illusion of form, they have no intrinsic nature, they are not permanent and they are not impermanent. You cannot say of an illusion of form that it is “permanent” or “impermanent”; therefore, “all dharmas are neither unmoved nor destroyed.”

4.­1274

In the eighth statement,1028 in regard to

“form has not occasioned anything,” P18k P25k

“form” and so on have “not occasioned anything”

“because someone to enact them does not exist.” P18k

Therefore they

“have not come into being.” P18k P25k

This is teaching that all dharmas have emptiness for their intrinsic nature.

4.­1275

In the ninth statement,

“Form is empty of a basic nature, and what is empty of a basic nature does not arise and does not pass away, and in what does not arise and does not pass away there is no transformation,” P18k P25k

the “basic nature,” the intrinsic nature, of dharmas like form and so on is emptiness. Emptiness is the intrinsic nature of all dharmas.

4.­1276

“What is empty of a basic nature does not arise and does not pass away.” P18k P25k

In thoroughly established phenomena that are empty in their nature the two‍—arising and stopping‍—do not exist, and when those two do not exist, “there is no” aging or “transformation.” Thus, there is no intrinsic arising, stopping, and transformation, so that which is form and so on endowed with arising, stopping, and transformation, marked [F.166.a] as a falsely imagined phenomenon, and coming into being, ultimately does not come into being and therefore does not exist. Therefore, it says

“what has not come into being is not form,” P18k P25k

up to

“what has not come into being is not consciousness,” P18k P25k

and so on.

4.­1277

In the tenth statement,

“what has not come into being is the perfection of wisdom, and the perfection of wisdom is what has not come into being,” P18k P25k

take the words “what has not come into being” as suchness, that is, as emptiness; take the words “the perfection of wisdom” as suchness too. So the two‍—something that has not come into being and the perfection of wisdom‍—are not different. Therefore, it says,

“Does what has not come into being give advice and instruction in a perfection of wisdom that has not come into being?” P18k P25k

This means how will emptiness give advice to emptiness?

4.­1278

In the eleventh statement,

“do not see ‘what has not come into being as one thing and a bodhisattva as another,’ ” P18k P25k

it teaches that a bodhisattva great being is the emptiness of an intrinsic nature.

4.­1279

“What has not come into being and form are not two” P18k P25k

is teaching from the perspective of the true dharmic nature of form.

4.­1280

In the twelfth statement, it means when they examine

“all dharmas” P18k P25k

they are similar to

“an illusion, a mirage,” P18k P25k

and so on, and

“they do not feel cowed by or tremble” P18k P25k

at anything.

[1034] [B17]

Part Two

The results of paying attention to the nonconceptual

4.­1281

Having thus first taught paying attention to the nonconceptual, it then teaches the result of those attentions, with

“they do not then grasp, do not accept, do not base themselves on, and do not settle down on form, and neither do they label anything ‘this is form.’ ”1029 P18k P25k

4.­1282

Thus, it makes five statements in order to teach the stages1030 of grasping. [F.166.b] At the start they do not grasp by forming an idea; they do not accept with the thinking mind; they do not base themselves on it with the intellect; then they do not settle down on it with a view; and then they do not label it for others with a word.

4.­1283

“And why? Lord, it is because form is not produced, and the nonproduction of form is not form. Therefore form and nonproduction are not two nor are they divided. And why? Lord, it is because that nonproduction is not one nor is it many.”1031 P18k P25k

Here form that is “not produced” means the true dharmic nature of form that is not produced. “The nonproduction of form is not form”: suchness, “the nonproduction of” that true dharmic nature of “form,” “is not” in its intrinsic nature falsely imagined “form.”

4.­1284

In that case, what does “therefore form and nonproduction are not two nor are they divided” teach? There, the statement “form is not produced” teaches the thoroughly established, unproduced intrinsic nature. This “nonproduction of form is not form” teaches that the mark of the falsely imagined phenomenon is absent from nonproduction. Thus, it means the true dharmic nature of form, the intrinsic nature of which is nonproduction, is the intrinsic nature of nonproduction and also of the true nature of dharmas, so “form” and “not produced” are the same, that is, are not different.

4.­1285

The “nonproduction” in this “nonproduction is not one nor is it many” is suchness. There is no specific number “one” or “two” or “three” for that. So, it means that because specific particulars are absent from nonproduction, when thoroughly established, they all, form and so on, are a single nature.

4.­1286

Hence “the nonproduction of form [F.167.a] is not form” means the true nature of dharmas that is the nonproduction of the true dharmic nature of form is not the intrinsic nature of falsely imagined form.1032

4.­1287

“Lord, suchness is not produced, and the nonproduction of suchness is not suchness. Therefore, suchness and nonproduction are not two nor are they divided.”1033 P18k P25k

Construe this based on stained and unstained suchness.

4.­1288

“Lord, it is because form is impermanent, so a decrease in form is not form. … Therefore, form and a decrease are not two nor are they divided. And why? Lord, it is because a decrease is not one nor is it many.”1034 P18k P25k

Here, because it says “the meaning of impermanence is the meaning of a nonexistent thing,”1035 “impermanent” form means form that “is a nonexistent thing.” “A decrease in form is not form”‍—“a decrease” is because of a change in the falsely imagined aspect in the form that is a nonexistent thing. That which is “a decrease in” falsely imagined “form is not” the true dharmic nature of “form.”

4.­1289

“Therefore, form and a decrease are not two nor are they divided” means because both “form and a decrease” are falsely imagined and nonexistent things they are therefore just one.

4.­1290

“Lord, it is because a decrease is not one nor is it many.” A decrease does not exist, so, like an illusion of form, ultimately it has no specific particular number. Therefore, all falsely imagined things are just one as nonexistent things.

4.­1291

“So, a decrease in form is not form.” [F.167.b] This means “a decrease in” falsely imagined “form is not” the intrinsic nature of the true dharmic nature of “form.”

4.­1292

“Lord, suchness is impermanent, so a decrease in suchness is not suchness.”1036 P25k

Here also construe the particular stained and unstained suchness. Thus, it is “impermanent” because from the one that was stained before comes about an unstained one later. Thus construe it as: the “suchness that is impermanent”‍—the “decrease” that is “the suchness of form,” “the suchness of feeling,” and so on‍—“is not” the thoroughly established “suchness.”

4.­1293

Where it says,

“Lord, anything called form is counted as not two,”1037 P18k P25k

“not two” is the true nature of dharmas, the ultimate. “Counted” in that ultimate are these, namely, “form,”

“feeling,” P18k P25k

and so on. What is this teaching? It means that even while the ultimate is just one, is “not two,” with the words “form that is the true nature of dharmas, feeling that is the true nature of dharmas, perception that is the true nature of dharmas, volitional factors that are the true nature of dharmas, and consciousness that is the true nature of dharmas” it teaches the one nondual ultimate, having divided it into many aspects.

4.­1294

With that you should connect

“then venerable Śāriputra inquired of venerable Subhūti”1038 P18k P25k

as follows. In the immediately preceding teaching about the result of the attentions to the nonconceptual, the elder Subhūti gave an explanation in four connected sections:1039 first,

“When bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom investigate those dharmas like that they do not then grasp, do not accept, do not base themselves on, and do not settle down on form, and neither do they label anything ‘this is form’ ”; P18k P25k

second,

“form is not produced, and the nonproduction of form is not form,” P18k P25k

and so on; third,

“a decrease in form is not form”; [F.168.a] P18k P25k

and fourth,

“anything called form is counted as not two.” P18k P25k

4.­1295

The elder Śāriputra, taking these four connected sections as his point of departure, asks the questions because he wants to hear a more detailed explanation.

4.­1296

Among these, in the first section, taking the three parts of the statement, “bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom investigate those dharmas like that,” as the point of departure, it asks three questions:

“What is a bodhisattva? What is the perfection of wisdom? What is it to investigate?” P18k P25k

They will be explained sequentially.

4.­1297

In

“they are called bodhisattvas because awakening is itself their state of being,” P18k P25k

take “awakening” as the dharma body. All “beings” have the dharma body as their nature, therefore bodhisattvas also have just “awakening” as their nature. So, it means they are called bodhisattvas because awakening is their nature, and because they are beings.

4.­1298

In that case, would not all beings then become bodhisattvas? There is not this fault here, because in the passage in general it wants to convey a special quality, so it is calling particular beings connected with awakening bodhisattvas. Thus, beings other than them who are not seeking for the knowledge of all aspects and who do not establish that state of being, are not connected in any way with awakening, so it is beings connected with awakening in particular who are being called bodhisattvas.

4.­1299

Therefore, it also teaches their special practice:

“And with that awakening they know the aspects of dharmas but they do not settle down on those dharmas.” P18k P25k

They “know” them as conventional truth, but ultimately “do not settle down on” them.

4.­1300

“Whatever the attributes,1040 tokens, and signs on account of which”‍— P18k P25k

this teaches the “attributes” through which dharmas are formulated. The two‍—“tokens and signs”‍—are explaining those. Names, [F.168.b] designations, conventional terms and so on are “tokens”; characteristic marks and behaviors are “signs.”

4.­1301

“Venerable Śāriputra, that which is called perfection of wisdom has gone far off.”1041 P18k P25k

Because wisdom that has gone to the other side of all dharmas1042 has gone far off from those dharmas, it

“is called wisdom gone to the other side.”1043 P18k P25k

4.­1302

“To investigate” P18k P25k

is realizing through skillful means and reasoning.1044

4.­1303

After that, the second section is taught by,1045

“Venerable Subhūti, why do you say, ‘…the nonproduction of form is not form…,’ ” P18k P25k

and so on.

4.­1304

“Venerable Śāriputra, form is empty of form” P18k P25k

means falsely imagined form does not exist as the real basis of form.

4.­1305

“The emptiness of form is not form, and is not production.” P18k P25k

The emptiness of a basic nature that is the true dharmic nature of form is not the intrinsic nature of form, and it is also not the intrinsic nature of production.

4.­1306

“Venerable Śāriputra, because of this one of many explanations, the nonproduction of form is not form” P18k P25k

means because falsely imagined form does not arise1046 and does not have arising as its intrinsic nature, therefore nonproduction is thus established as not form.

4.­1307

After that, with

“Venerable Subhūti, why do you say, ‘It is because a decrease in form is not form,’ ”1047 P18k P25k

and so on, it teaches the third section. Form and decrease are both

“not conjoined and not disjoined”‍— P18k P25k

in the way explained before,1048 form is a construct, and decrease is also a construct, so both

“have no mark.” P18k P25k

4.­1308

In the fourth connected section,

“nonproduction is not one thing and form another; nonproduction itself is form, and form itself is nonproduction.” P18k P25k

4.­1309

In the way explained before,1049 take “form” [F.169.a] and “nonproduction” as the true nature of dharmas. Hence, they are

“not two.” P18k P25k

4.­1310

As for

“they then view the nonproduction of form,”1050 P18k P25k

this means they directly realize suchness. As before,1051 it says “the nonproduction of form” because the true dharmic nature of form and suchness are the same.

The questions and responses of the two elders1052

4.­1311

From here on there are the probing questions and responses of the two elders.

4.­1312

What does

“Venerable Subhūti, if form is a nonproduction, up to the buddhadharmas are a nonproduction, then, Venerable Subhūti, will śrāvakas not have already gained śrāvaka awakening,”1053 P18k P25k

and so on, teach?

4.­1313

If “form,” and so on, and suchness were the same, in that case the understanding of form would be the understanding of suchness, and all beings would see the ultimate as well. Were they to do so, all beings would each properly reach their own respective awakening without having to concentrate on it. And then

“the five awakenings” P18k P25k

would not be differentiable. stream enterer, once-returner, non-returner, worthy one, a pratyekabuddha’s awakening, and the knowledge of all aspects would be mixed up. Were that to be the case, stream enterers and so on would also be buddhas. Bodhisattvas would have already gained their awakening, so to

“undertake the difficult practices” P18k P25k

and so on would be meaningless, and the knowledge of all aspects, complete awakening, and

“turning the wheel of the Dharma” P18k P25k

would be meaningless as well.

4.­1314

“Venerable Śāriputra, I do not accept that an unproduced dharma has an attainment, or a clear realization.1054 I do not accept that which is unproduced becomes a stream enterer. I do not accept that which is unproduced has the result of stream enterer.” P18k P25k

4.­1315

What does this teach? [F.169.b] Nobody can attain or have a clear realization of an unproduced dharma. Given that it is unproduced, no one at all becomes a stream enterer. The elimination of mere falsely imagined obscurations, because the conceptualization of a grasper and grasped does not exist, are accepted to be the attainment and clear realization. So, it is teaching that “suchness does not realize suchness,” and hence the aforementioned fault that “the understanding of form and so on will be the understanding of suchness” is not a fault, because there are afflictive obscurations and obscurations to knowledge.

4.­1316

“Venerable Śāriputra, I do not accept that bodhisattvas are undertaking difficult practices.” P18k P25k

It explains this because ultimately bodhisattvas do not have such conceptualizations. At the eighth level when bodhisattvas gain forbearance for dharmas that are not produced and do not apprehend any dharma at all, they undertake difficult practices free from production and so on. At that time bodhisattvas have a nonapprehending attention and do not have

“the idea of difficulty” P18k P25k

when it comes to cutting off their heads and so on, or “any idea of suffering at all.” The concluding passage,

“bodhisattva great beings do not appropriate and do not apprehend any dharma as anything in any way at all,” P18k P25k

teaches that.

4.­1317

“Venerable Śāriputra, in the absence of production I do not accept that there is the state of a tathāgata,” P18k P25k

and so on‍—“in the absence of production” in the dharma body “I do not accept that there is” any tathāgata that is a second tathāgata realizing the absence of production. Hence this is teaching the unproduced state, that “a tathāgata” is the unproduced state, perfect complete awakening.

4.­1318

“I do not accept that an unproduced dharma attains an unproduced attainment.” P18k P25k

“I do not accept” that suchness realizes suchness is the meaning.

4.­1319

He says that, and then the elder Śāriputra asks about [F.170.a] two alternatives: Given that something unproduced does not attain an unproduced attainment, does something unproduced attain a produced attainment, or does something produced attain an unproduced attainment?

4.­1320

“Well then, Venerable Subhūti, does an unproduced dharma attain a produced attainment, or does a produced dharma attain an unproduced attainment?” P18k P25k

If something in the nature of suchness were to attain the falsely imagined results of stream enterer and so on, then “an unproduced dharma would attain a produced attainment.” Were falsely imagined persons to attain the results of stream enterer and so on that are in the nature of suchness, then “a produced dharma would attain an unproduced attainment.”

4.­1321

Since he is unable to accept either of them he says,

“Venerable Śāriputra, I do not accept that a produced dharma attains an unproduced attainment,” P18k P25k

and so on.

4.­1322

“There is an attainment and there is a clear realization, but not in a dual way.” P18k P25k

This is teaching that even though both an attainment of the unproduced by the produced, and an attainment of the produced by the unproduced, do not exist, still, on the mere abandonment of afflictive obscurations and obscurations to knowledge,

“attainment and clear realization are labeled by ordinary convention,” P18k P25k

and the person is labeled

“stream enterer, tathāgata,” P18k P25k

and so on.

4.­1323

“Venerable Subhūti, is the unproduced similar to the attainment and clear realization that, as ordinary convention, is formless, cannot be pointed out, does not block, and has only one mark‍—that is, no mark?” P18k

Śāriputra is asking if the unproduced is, like attainment and clear realization, also ultimately nonexistent.

4.­1324

“Exactly so, Venerable Śāriputra” P18k

teaches that because, ultimately, an unproduced cannot be grasped and cannot be expressed, it does not exist in an unproduced form.

4.­1325

Now, because even production is eliminated, it says,

“Venerable Śāriputra, [F.170.b] because of this one of many explanations neither is production produced nor is nonproduction produced.” P18k P25k

This means the “unproduced” is the thoroughly established so it is not produced; the “produced” is the falsely imagined so it is nonexistent and therefore not produced, so in “this one of many explanations… production” also does not exist.

4.­1326

“Venerable Subhūti, you are confident in your readiness to say again and again that ‘dharmas are unproduced’? You are also confident in your readiness to say there is no production of unproduced dharmas?” P18k P25k

Both the terms “unproduced” and “no production” are well-known synonyms for suchness. When those two are differentiated as particulars qualifying the word “dharma”‍—“an unproduced dharma” and “a dharma of which there is no production”‍—they become words for falsely imagined dharmas.

4.­1327

When asked if it is appropriate to say that, the elder Subhūti again, having thought about whether the two terms “unproduced” and “no production” are well known as falsely imagined words, says,

“Venerable Śāriputra, I have no ready confidence to say again and again that dharmas are unproduced. I have no ready confidence to say there is no production of unproduced dharmas.” P18k P25k

4.­1328

Then, teaching that the two‍—unproduced and no production‍—are just falsely imagined, it says,

“And why? Because, Venerable Śāriputra, an unproduced dharma, nonproduction, ready confidence, saying something, and a state of production‍—all those dharmas are not conjoined and not disjoined, are formless, cannot be pointed out, do not obstruct, and have only one mark‍—that is, no mark.” P18k P25k

4.­1329

In this statement about a ready confidence to say something about unproduced dharmas and no production, these six dharmas are indicated: unproduced, nonproduction, the absence of a state of production, a dharma, ready confidence, and saying something. That they are all falsely imagined and hence do not exist is the meaning. [F.171.a]

4.­1330

You can suppose dharmas that exist are mental factors, not conjoined with mind, with form, or uncompounded. There, “those dharmas are not conjoined” teaches that they do not exist as real mental factors; they “are not disjoined” teaches that they do not exist as real things not conjoined with mind; they “are formless” teaches that they do not exist as existent things with form like the eleven1055 forms that are nonrevealing and so on; they “cannot be pointed out” teaches that they do not exist as things like colors that can be pointed out; they “do not block” teaches that they do not exist with the mark of the form of a sense faculty;1056 and they “have only one mark‍—that is, no mark”‍—teaches that they do not exist with the mark of the uncompounded, which is to say, there is no dharma at all that is “the mark of the uncompounded.” This means it does not exist, so they are liberated from the mark of existence and nonexistence and hence are without a mark, that is, they “have one mark”‍—marked by being without a mark.

4.­1331

Then the elder Śāriputra asks if saying something and so on are also nonproductions.

“Venerable Subhūti, is there is no production of saying, is there also no production of ready confidence, and is there also no production of a dharma? Are those dharmas that are the point of departure for a ready confidence to say something also not produced?” P18k P25k

This means: Do “saying,” “ready confidence,” and all “dharmas” and dharmas that have to be said have nonproduction as their intrinsic nature?

4.­1332

Then the elder Subhūti says

“exactly so,” P18k P25k

asserting that they all have nonproduction as their intrinsic nature.

4.­1333

Having said,

“There is no production of saying, there is also no production of ready confidence, and there is also no production of a dharma. Those dharmas that are the point of departure for a ready confidence to say something are not produced,” [F.171.b] P18k P25k

with

“there is no production of form,” P18k P25k

and so on, it teaches that they all have nonproduction as their intrinsic nature, teaching just what has been taught before in the section on nonproduction. Also, in this teaching it gives a reminder of the aforementioned faults‍—“in that case will the five forms of life not be differentiable” and so on‍—and gives a response to them.1057 As for

“Venerable Śāriputra, just as attainment and clear realization exist as ordinary conventions, similarly,” P18k P25k

and so on, it means “just as” ultimately both “attainment and clear realization” do not exist, and “stream enterer” and so on also do not exist, “similarly,” because the three vehicles are also simply just suchness, there are ultimately no differences in the results.

4.­1334

There are those who have gone wrong, thinking, “But earlier, when accumulating the accumulations during three incalculable eons, there are the particular different actions, there are particular different maturations corresponding to those, and similarly, during the result period there are different afflictive obscurations and obscurations to knowing that have been produced and not produced, so, based on just those, there are differences in defilement and purification.” So it says,

“Venerable Śāriputra, it is because ultimately there is no maturation of karma, there is no production, there is no cessation, there is no defilement, and there is no purification.”1058 P18k P25k

This means they are all falsely imagined phenomena and do not exist, so suchness does not become different on account of them.

4.­1335

Having thus eliminated an unproduced dharma, to eliminate a dharma that arises again it starts by asking a question:

“Venerable Subhūti, is an unproduced dharma produced or is a produced dharma produced?” P18k P25k

Here it is asking, [F.172.a] given that a seedling and so on is produced from a seed, is that production of a seedling the production of one that has not come into being‍—is it “unproduced”‍—or is it the production of one that has come into being‍—is it already “produced”?

4.­1336

Having been asked that, the elder says that if an unproduced seedling is produced, everything unproduced would also be produced indeterminately, and if the already produced is produced, it would come to be produced repeatedly again and again, so, because being produced and so on is contradicted by these lines of reasoning, it is not appropriate to say it is like either:

4.­1337

“Venerable Śāriputra, I do not accept that an unproduced dharma is produced, nor do I accept that a produced dharma is produced.” P18k P25k

This means the unproduced does not exist because it is in a state of nonexistence, and because it is nonexistent it is not produced. Furthermore, the produced, because it is already in a produced state, does not arise again. Ultimately, therefore, the attribute of arising is just nonexistent.

4.­1338

Saying that prompts these questions: “Are certain unproduced attributes‍—a rabbit’s horns and so on‍—not produced? Or are past productions not produced?” So there are these two questions:

“Venerable Subhūti, what unproduced dharma do you not accept is produced?”1059 P18k P25k

and

“What produced dharma do you not accept is produced?” P18k P25k

4.­1339

To eliminate arising, again it says,

“Venerable Subhūti, is a dharma that has not been produced, produced; or is a dharma that has been produced, produced?” P18k P25k

4.­1340

A nonproduction is not produced because it is an uncompounded phenomenon, and a production is not produced because it is a falsely imagined phenomenon and does not exist, so the elder says,

“Venerable Śāriputra, the unproduced is not produced, and the produced is not produced either,” P18k P25k

and as the reason for that says,

“Venerable Śāriputra, it is because both produced and unproduced dharmas are not conjoined and not disjoined because there is no production,” P18k P25k

having in mind that both are nevertheless ultimately simply just suchness.

4.­1341

Having taught that, it teaches just what has been taught before in the section on nonproduction.1060 Thus, there is the teaching from

“there is no production of form,” [F.172.b] P18k P25k

up to

“there is no production of the knowledge of all aspects.” P18k P25k

4.­1342

It sums up in conclusion with,

“Venerable Śāriputra, because of this one of many explanations, there is no production of saying, there is also no production of ready confidence, and there is also no production of a dharma; those dharmas that are the point of departure for a ready confidence to say something are not produced.” P18k P25k

4.­1343

“Venerable Śāriputra, form is empty of a basic nature”1061 P18k P25k

teaches the true dharmic nature of form, so it says,

“It has no fixed position inside, it has no fixed position outside, and it cannot be apprehended without both.” P18k P25k

Were it to have a “fixed position” in something, you can suppose it would have a fixed position either “inside, outside,” or in something other than “both.” Because ultimately it does not exist in all three, therefore “it has no fixed position.”

4.­1344

Having taught that, it elaborates excellently the marks of just that fixed position and no fixed position and teaches the means to

“purify the awakening path” P18k P25k

with

“there is an ordinary… and there is an extraordinary”1062 P18k P25k

one and so on.

4.­1345

“It does not move from, does not transcend, and does not pass beyond the ordinary world,”1063 P18k P25k

beyond falsely imagined phenomena. The three are based on the small, middling, and big forbearance.1064 The meaning of the rest is clear.1065

4.­1346

As for the seven statements1066

“as which the world (as subject) exists,” P18k

and so on, there

in some places the word world is to be taken as the five aggregates;

in some places it is to be taken as the world as inhabitants;

in some places the container world;

in some places the world of ordinary beings;

in some places the cycle of existences;

in some places falsely imagined dharmas; and

in some places as the five sorts of sense object.

4.­1347

“On account of them the world is here”1067‍—

the world as aggregates;

4.­1348

“on account of them the world is established”‍— P18k

the container world;

4.­1349

“the world is the same as them”‍— P18k

the same as falsely imagined phenomena;

4.­1350

“on account of them there is something given to the world”‍— P18k

the five sorts of sense objects are given to the world; [F.173.a]

4.­1351

“on account of them they do not escape the world”‍— P18k

from the world that is the cycle of existences;

4.­1352

“they are for the coming into being of the world”‍— P18k

the world as ordinary beings, because to come into being is to increase;1068 and

4.­1353

“they come into being in the world”‍— P18k

the world as inhabitants comes into being in the container world.

4.­1354

“On account of them the world goes free”1069‍— P18k

the world as inhabitants;

4.­1355

“they eliminate the world”1070‍— P18k

the five sorts of sense objects;

4.­1356

“on account of them a world causes an escape”1071‍— P18k

the world as a superior person. As for

4.­1357

“those that are not the world”1072‍— P18k

these are thoroughly established phenomena. As for

4.­1358

“the world from which they will escape”‍— P18k

they escape from the world of the cycle of existences. As for

4.­1359

“those who free from the world”1073‍— P18k

this is from the container world; as for

4.­1360

“those who free in the world”‍— P18k

this is in the worlds where there is Dharma.

4.­1361

“Excellent, excellent, Venerable Śāriputra. I will object to Venerable Śāriputra in that Venerable Śāriputra has got at just what is meant by expressing the statement as an absolute.”1074 P18k P25k

This is a statement, stated in three parts, rejoicing in what Śāriputra has said. It teaches that it is excellent, that there are logical objections to it, and that it has got at the meaning.1075

4.­1362

“You should know that the nonexistence of attention is because of the nonexistence of a being; you should know that the emptiness of attention is because of the emptiness of a being; you should know that the isolation of attention is because of the isolation of a being; you should know that the absence of an intrinsic nature in attention is because of the absence of an intrinsic nature in a being; and you should know that there is no full awakening of attention because there is no full awakening of a being.” P18k P25k

4.­1363

There are no other than those five1076 attentions so it is teaching that they too are not the bodhisattva. [F.173.b] Therefore, it teaches:

“I say bodhisattva great beings are not separated from staying in this state or from this attention.”1077 P18k P25k P100k


5.

Explanation of the Detailed Teaching

Part One

Explanation of Chapters 22 and 23

5.­1

Thus, first of all, along with a teaching of miraculous powers and along with a teaching of the results, the intermediate explanation of the perfection of wisdom has been completed. As explained,1078 the Tathāgata in this perfection of wisdom1079 gives a threefold teaching: brief, middling, and detailed. Of them, the teaching in brief and middling modes based on trainees is finished.

What is the bodhisattva great beings’ perfection of wisdom?

How should bodhisattva great beings stand in the perfection of wisdom?

How should bodhisattva great beings train in the perfection of wisdom?

The sustaining power of the tathāgata

The perfection of wisdom is great, immeasurable, infinite, and limitless

Explanation of Chapters 24 to 33

Beneficial qualities

Merits

Rejoicing and dedication

Explanation of Chapters 34 to 36

Wheel of the Dharma and the perfection of wisdom

Not bound and not freed

Purity

Attachment and nonattachment

Explanation of Chapters 37 and 38

Benefits of purity

Glosses

Explanation of Chapters 39 to 42

Absence of a practice and signs of completion

Last of the five hundreds

Explanation of the work of Māra

Revealing this world

Explanation of Chapters 43 to 45

Marks

Appreciation and gratitude

How those new to the bodhisattva vehicle train

Nine qualities of the doers of the difficult

Explanation of Chapters 46 to 50

Cultivation and disintegration

Suchness and its indivisibility

Shaking of the universe

Synonyms of suchness

Is it hard or not hard to become awakened?

Signs of bodhisattvas irreversible from progress toward awakening

Part Two

Subhūti’s Two Hundred and Seventy-Seven Questions

Explanation of Chapters 51 to 55

The deep places

Which moment of thought causes awakening?

Karma in a dream and the waking state

Fully mastering emptiness

Questions 18 to 27

Explanation of Chapters 56 to 63

No duality and no nonduality

Cyclic existence and nirvāṇa

Standing in the knowledge of all aspects

The three knowledges

The meaning of pāramitā

Explanation of Chapters 64 to 72

Explanation of Chapter 73

Major marks and minor signs of a buddha

Explanation of Chapters 74 to 82

Emptiness of a basic nature


6.

Explanation of the Maitreya Chapter: Chapter 83

6.­1

Having thus finished explaining Her Ladyship the One Hundred Thousand, I will now explain what is in the Twenty-Five Thousand.1933

6.­2

Then, for the sake of future living beings and for the sake of those gathered in the retinue at that time, the noble

Maitreya asked… “Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom who want to train in a bodhisattva’s training train in form?” P18k P25k


c.

Colophon

c.­1

Revised and finalized by the Indian preceptor Surendrabodhi and the chief editor-translator monk Yeshé Dé.


ap.
Appendix

Outline

ap1.­1

Introduction

I.1 Introduction common to all sūtras

I.2 Introduction unique to the Perfection of Wisdom

I.2.A First, radiating light from the major and minor parts of the body

I.2.B Second, radiating light from the pores of the body

I.2.C Third, radiating natural light

I.2.D Fourth, radiating light from the tongue

I.2.E Helping the world of inhabitant beings

I.3 Presentation of the single vehicle system

Summary of Contents

Explanation of the Brief Teaching (The single sentence at the beginning of Chapter 2 in all three sūtras)

Explanation of the Intermediate Teaching (Chapters 2 to 21 in the Eighteen Thousand, Chapters 2 to 13 in the Twenty-Five Thousand and One Hundred Thousand)

IV.1 Brief teaching

IV.1.A Practice of the perfections

IV.1.B Practice of the dharmas on the side of awakening

IV.1.C Practice without harming that brings beings to maturity

IV.1.D Practice that brings the buddhadharmas to maturity

IV.2 Detailed teaching

IV.2.A Why bodhisattvas endeavor

IV.2.A.i They want to make themselves familiar with the three vehicles

IV.2.A.ii They want the greatnesses of bodhisattvas

IV.2.A.iii They want the greatnesses of buddhas

IV.2.B How bodhisattvas endeavor

IV.2.C The defining marks of those who endeavor

IV.2.C.i The intrinsic nature of each‍—of form and so on, separately‍—that cannot be apprehended

IV.2.C.ii The intrinsic nature of them as a collection that cannot be apprehended

IV.2.C.iii Their defining marks that cannot be apprehended

IV.2.C.iv The totality of dharmas that cannot be apprehended

IV.2.D Those who endeavor

IV.2.E Instructions for the endeavor

IV.2.E.i Instructions for making an effort by using names and conventional terms conventionally

IV.2.E.ii Instructions for making an effort without apprehending beings

IV.2.E.iii Instructions for making an effort by not apprehending words for things

IV.2.E.iv Instructions for making an effort when all dharmas cannot be apprehended

IV.2.F Benefits of the endeavor

IV.2.G Subdivisions of the endeavor

IV.2.G.i Practice free from the two extremes

IV.2.G.ii Practice that does not stand

IV.2.G.iii Practice that does not fully grasp

IV.2.G.iii.a Not Fully Grasping Dharmas

IV.2.G.iii.b Not Fully Grasping Causal signs

IV.2.G.iii.c Not Fully Grasping Understanding

IV.2.G.iv Practice that has made a full investigation

IV.2.G.v Practice of method

IV.2.G.vi Practice for quickly fully awakening

IV.2.G.vi.a Training in the meditative stabilizations

IV.2.G.vi.b Training in not apprehending all dharmas

IV.2.G.vi.c Training in the illusion-like

IV.2.G.vi.d Training in skillful means

IV.2.H Specific instruction for coming to an authoritative conclusion about this exposition

IV.2.H1 Part One: The twenty-eight [or twenty-nine] questions (starting at Chapter 11 in the Eighteen Thousand, Chapter 8 in the Twenty-Five Thousand and One Hundred Thousand)

IV.2.H1.i 1a. What is the meaning of the word “bodhisattva?”

IV.2.H1.ii 1b. What is the meaning of the term “great being?”

IV.2.H.ii.a The Lord’s intention

IV.2.H.ii.b Śāriputra’s intention

IV.2.H.ii.c Subhūti’s intention

IV.2.H1.iii 1c. How are they armed with great armor?

IV.2.H.iii.a Pūrṇa’s intention

IV.2.H1.iv 2. How have they set out in the Great Vehicle?

IV.2.H1.v 3. How do they stand in the Great Vehicle?

IV.2.H1.vi 6. How is it a great vehicle?

IV.2.H1.vi.a 2. Great Vehicle of all the emptinesses

IV.2.H1.vi.b 3. Great Vehicle of all the meditative stabilizations

IV.2.H1.vi.c 4. Great Vehicle of the applications of mindfulness

IV.2.H1.vi.d 5. Great Vehicle of the right abandonments

IV.2.H1.vi.e 6. Great Vehicle of the legs of miraculous power

IV.2.H1.vi.f 7. Great Vehicle of the faculties

IV.2.H1.vi.g 8. Great Vehicle of the powers

IV.2.H1.vi.h 9. Great Vehicle of the limbs of awakening

IV.2.H1.vi.i 10. Great Vehicle of the path

IV.2.H1.vi.j 11. Great Vehicle of the liberations

IV.2.H1.vi.k 12. Great Vehicle of the knowledges

IV.2.H1.vi.l 13. Great Vehicle of the three faculties

IV.2.H1.vi.m 14. Great Vehicle of the three meditative stabilizations

IV.2.H1.vi.n 15–16. Great Vehicle of the mindfulnesses and the five absorptions

IV.2.H1.vi.o 17. Great Vehicle of the ten powers

IV.2.H1.vi.o.1 First power

IV.2.H1.vi.o.2 Second power

IV.2.H1.vi.o.3 Third power

IV.2.H1.vi.o.4 Fourth power

IV.2.H1.vi.o.5 Fifth power

IV.2.H1.vi.o.6 Sixth power

IV.2.H1.vi.o.7 Seventh power

IV.2.H1.vi.o.8 Eighth to Tenth powers

IV.2.H1.vi.p 18. Great Vehicle of the four fearlessnesses

IV.2.H1.vi.q 19. Great Vehicle of the four detailed and thorough knowledges

IV.2.H1.vi.r 20. Great Vehicle of the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha

IV.2.H1.vi.s 21. Great Vehicle of the dhāraṇī gateways

IV.2.H1.vii 7. How have they come to set out in the Great Vehicle?

IV.2.H1.viii 8. From where will the Great Vehicle go forth?

IV.2.H1.ix 9. Where will that Great Vehicle stand?

IV.2.H1.x 10. Who will go forth in this vehicle?

IV.2.H1.xi 11. It surpasses the world with its gods, humans, and asuras and goes forth. Is that why it is called a great vehicle?

IV.2.H1.xii 12. That vehicle is equal to space

IV.2.H1.xiii The remaining sixteen questions

IV.2.H2 Part Two

IV.2.H2.i The results of paying attention to the nonconceptual

IV.2.H2.ii The questions and responses of the two elders


ab.

Abbreviations

AAV Āryavimuktisena (’phags pa rnam grol sde). ’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa’i man ngag gi bstan bcos mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan gyi tshig le’ur byas pa’i ’grel pa (Ārya­pañca­viṃśati­sāhasrikā­prajñā-pāramitopadeśa­śāstrābhisamayālaṃkāra­kārikā­vārttika). Toh 3787, Degé Tengyur vol. 80 (shes phyin, ka), folios 14b–212a.
AAVN Āryavimuktisena. Abhi­samayālamkāra­vrtti (mistakenly titled Abhi­samayālaṅkāra­vyākhyā). Nepal German Manuscript Preservation Project A 37/9, National Archives Kathmandu Accession Number 5/55. The numbers follow the page numbering of my own undated, unpublished transliteration of the part of the manuscript not included in Pensa 1967.
AAVārt Bhadanta Vimuktisena (btsun pa grol sde). ’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa’i man ngag gi bstan bcos mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan gyi tshig le’ur byas pa’i rnam par ’grel pa (*Ārya­pañca­viṃśati­sāhasrikā­prajñā-pāramitopadeśa­śāstrābhisamayālaṃkāra­kārikā­vārttika). Toh 3788, Degé Tengyur vol. 81 (shes phyin, kha), folios 1b–181a.
AAtib shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i man ngag gi bstan bcos mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan zhes bya ba tshig le’le’urur byas pa (Abhi­samayālaṃkāra-nāma-prajñā­pāramitopadeśa­śāstra­kārikā) [Ornament for the Clear Realizations]. Toh 3786, Degé Tengyur (shes phyin, ka), folios 1b–13a.
Abhisamayālaṃkāra Abhi­samayālaṃkāra-nāma-prajñā­pāramitopadeśa­śāstra. Numbering of the verses as in Unrai Wogihara edition. Abhisamayālaṃkārālokā Prajñāpāramitā Vyākhyā: The Work of Haribhadra. Tokyo: The Toyo Bunko, 1932–5; reprint ed., Tokyo: Sankibo Buddhist Book Store, 1973.
Amano Amano, Koei H. Abhisamayālaṃkāra-kārikā-śāstra-vivṛti: Haribhadra’s Commentary on the Abhisamayālaṃkāra-kārikā-śāstra edited for the first time from a Sanskrit Manuscript. Kyoto: Heirakuji Shoten, 2000.
Aṣṭa Aṣṭa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā. Page numbers are Wogihara (1973) that includes the edition of Mitra (1888).
BPS ’phags pa byang chub sems dpa’i sde snod ces bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Ārya­bodhi­sattva­piṭaka­nāma­mahā­yāna­sūtra) [The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva]. Toh 56, Degé Kangyur vols. 40–41 (dkon brtsegs, kha, ga), folios 255b1–294a7, 1b1–205b1. English translation in Norwegian Institute of Palaeography and Historical Philology 2023.
Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo Zhang, Yisun, ed. Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo. Pe-cing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang 2000.
Buddhaśrī shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa sdud pa’i tshig su byas pa’i dka’ ’grel (Prajñā­pāramitā­saṃcaya­gāthā­pañjikā). Toh 3798, Degé Tengyur vol. 87 (shes phyin, nya), folios 116a–189b.
Bṭ1 Anonymous/Daṃṣṭrāsena. shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa ’bum gyi rgya cher ’grel (Śata­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā­bṛhaṭṭīkā) [Bṛhaṭṭīkā]. Toh 3807, Degé Tengyur vols. 91–92 (shes phyin, na, pa).
Bṭ3 Vasubandhu/Daṃṣṭrāsena. ’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa ’bum dang / nyi khri lnga sgong pa dang / khri brgyad stong pa rgya cher bshad pa (Ārya­śata­sāhasrikā­pañca­viṃśati­sāhasrikāṣṭā­daśa-sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitābṭhaṭṭīkā) [Bṛhaṭṭīkā]. Degé Tengyur vol. 93 (shes phyin, pha), folios 1b–292b.
C Choné (co ne) Kangyur and Tengyur.
D Degé (sde dge) Kangyur and Tengyur.
DMDic Dan Martin Dictionary. Part of The Tibetan to English Translation Tool, version 3.3.0, compiled by Andrés Montano Pellegrini. Available from https://www.bdrc.io/blog/2020/12/21/dan-martins-tibetan-histories/.
Edg Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary. New Haven, 1953.
Eight Thousand Conze, Edward. The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines & Its Verse Summary. Bolinas, Calif.: Four Seasons Foundation, 1973.
GRETIL Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages.
Ghoṣa Ghoṣa, Pratāpachandra, ed. Śata­sāhasrikā Prajñā­pāramitā. Asiatic Society of Bengal. Calcutta, 1902–14.
Gilgit Gilgit Buddhist Manuscripts (revised and enlarged compact facsimile edition). Vol. 1. by Raghu Vira and Lokesh Chandra. Bibliotheca Indo-Buddhica Series No. 150. Delhi 110007: Sri Satguru Publications, a division of Indian Books Center, 1995.
GilgitC Conze, Edward, ed. and trans. The Gilgit Manuscript of the Aṣṭādaśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā: Chapters 55 to 70 Corresponding to the 5th Abhisamaya. Roma: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, 1962.
Golden snar thang gser bri ma. Golden Tengyur/Ganden Tengyur. Produced between 1731 and 1741 by Polhane Sonam Tobgyal for the Qing court, published in Tianjing 1988. BDRC W23702.
H Lhasa (zhol) Kangyur and Tengyur
Haribhadra (Amano) Abhi­samayālaṃkāra­kārikā­śāstra­vivṛti. Amano edition.
Haribhadra (Wogihara) Abhi­samayālaṃkārālokā Prajñā­pāramitā­vyākhyā. Wogihara edition.
LC Candra, Lokesh. Tibetan Sanskrit Dictionary. Śata-piṭaka Series Indo-Asian Literature, Vol. 3. International Academy of Indian Culture (1959–61) third reprint edition 2001.
LSPW Conze, Edward. The Large Sutra on Perfection Wisdom. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 1975. First paperback printing, 1984.
MDPL Conze, Edward. Materials for a Dictionary of the Prajñāpāramitā Literature. Tokyo: Suzuki Research Foundation, 1973.
MQ Conze, Edward and Shotaro Iida. “ ‘Maitreya’s Questions’ in the Prajñāpāramitā.” In Mélanges d’India a la Mémoire de Louis Renou, 229–42. Paris: Éditions E. de Boccard, 1968.
MSAvy Asaṅga / Vasubandhu. Sūtrālaṃkāra­vyākhyā.
MSAvyT Asaṅga / Vasubandhu. mdo sde’i rgyan gyi bshad pa (Sūtrālaṃkāra­vyākhyā). Toh 4026, Degé Tengyur vol. 225 (sems tsam, phi), folios 129b–260a.
MW Monier-Williams, Monier. A Sanskrit-English dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1899.
Mppś Lamotte, Étienne. Le Traité de la Grande Vertu de Sagesse de Nāgārjuna (Mahāprajñā-pāramitā-śāstra). Vol. I and II: Bibliothèque du Muséon, 18. Louvain: Institut Orientaliste, 1949; reprinted 1967. Vol III, IV and V: Publications de l’Institut Orientaliste de Louvain, 2, 12 and 24. Louvain: Institut Orientaliste, 1970, 1976 and 1980.
Mppś English Gelongma Karma Migme Chodron. The Treatise on the Great Virtue of Wisdom of Nāgārjuna. Gampo Abbey Nova Scotia, 2001. English translation of Étienne Lamotte (1949–80).
Mvy Mahāvyutpatti (bye brag tu rtogs par byed pa chen po. Toh. 4346, Degé Tengyur vol. 306 (bstan bcos sna tshogs, co), folios 1b-131a.
N Narthang (snar thang) Kangyur and Tengyur.
NAK National Archives Kathmandu.
NGMPP Nepal German Manuscript Preservation Project.
PSP Pañca­viṃśati­sāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā. Edited by Takayasu Kimura. Tokyo: Sankibo Busshorin 2007–9 (1-1, 1-2), 1986 (2-3), 1990 (4), 1992 (5), 2006 (6-8). Available online (input by Klaus Wille, Göttingen) at GRETIL.
RecA Skt and Tib editions of Recension A in Yuyama 1976.
RecAs Sanskrit Recension A in Yuyama 1976.
RecAt Tibetan Recension A in Yuyama 1976.
Rgs Ratna­guṇa­saṃcaya­gāthā.
S Stok Palace (stog pho brang bris ma) Kangyur.
Skt Sanskrit.
Subodhinī Attributed to Haribhadra. bcom ldan ’das yon tan rin po che sdud pa’i tshig su byas pa’i dka’ ’grel shes bya ba (Bhagavadratna­guṇa­saṃcaya­gāthā-pañjikā­nāma) [A Commentary on the Difficult Points of the “Verses that Summarize the Perfection of Wisdom”]. Toh 3792, Degé Tengyur vol. 86 (shes phyin, ja), folios 1b–78a.
TGN de bshin gshegs pa’i gsang ba bsam gyis mi khyab pa’i bstan pa (Tathāgatācintya­guhyaka­nirdeśa) [The Secrets of the Realized Ones]. Toh 47, Degé Kangyur vol. 39 (dkon brtsegs, ka), folios 100a7–203a. English translation in Fiordalis, David. and Dharmachakra Translation Committee 2023.
TMN de bzhin gshegs pa’i snying po chen po nges par bstan pa (Tathāgata­mahā­karuṇā­nirdeśa­sūtra) [“The Teaching on the Great Compassion of the Tathāgata”]. Toh 147, Degé Kangyur vol. 57 (mdo sde, pa), folios 42a1–242b7. English translation in Burchardi 2020.
Tempangma bka’ ’gyur rgyal rtse’i them spang ma. The Gyaltse Tempangma manuscript of the Kangyur preserved at National Library of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Tib Tibetan.
Toh Tōhoku Imperial University A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons. (bkaḥ-ḥgyur and bstan-ḥgyur). Edited by Ui, Hakuju; Suzuki, Munetada; Kanakura, Yenshō; and Taka, Tōkan. Tohoku Imperial University, Sendai, 1934.
Vetter Vetter, Tilmann. “Compounds in the Prologue of the Pañca­viṃśati­sāhasrikā,” Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens, Band XXXVII, 1993: 45–92.
Wogihara Wogihara, Unrai. Abhisamayālaṃkārālokā Prajñāpāramitā Vyākhyā: The Work of Haribhadra. Tokyo: The Toyo Bunko, 1932–5; reprint ed., Tokyo: Sankibo Buddhist Book Store, 1973.
Z Zacchetti, Stefano. In Praise of the Light. Bibliotheca Philologica et Philosophica Buddhica, Vol. 8. The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology. Tokyo: Soka University, 2005.
brgyad stong pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa bryad stong pa (Aṣṭa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā) [“Eight Thousand”]. Toh 12, Degé Kangyur vol. 33 (shes phyin, brgyad stong pa, ka), folios 1a–286a.
khri brgyad shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa khri brgyad stong pa (Aṣṭā­daśa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā) [“Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines”]. Toh 10, Degé Kangyur vols. 29–31 (shes phyin, khri brgyad, ka, kha, and in ga folios 1b–206a). English translation in Sparham 2022.
khri pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa khri pa (Daśa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā) [“Perfection of Wisdom in Ten Thousand Lines”]. Toh 11, Degé Kangyur vols. 31–32 (shes phyin, khri brgyad, ga folios 1b–91a (second repetition of numbering), and in shes phyin, khrid pa, nga, folios 92b-397a). English translation in Dorje 2018.
le’u brgyad ma shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa (Pañca­viṃśati­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā) [Haribhadra’s “Eight Chapters”]. Toh 3790, vols. 82–84 (shes phyin, ga, nga, ca). Citations are from the 1976–79 Karmapae chodhey gyalwae sungrab partun khang edition, first the Tib. vol. letter in italics, followed by the folio and line number.
nyi khri shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa (Pañca­viṃśati­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā) [Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines]. Toh 9, Degé Kangyur vols. 26–28 (shes phyin, nyi khri, ka–ga). Citations are from the 1976–79 Karmapae chodhey gyalwae sungrab partun khang edition. English Translation in Padmakara 2023.
rgyan snang Haribhadra. shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa brgyad stong pa’i bshad pa mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan gyi snang ba, (Aṣṭa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā-vyākhyānābhi­samayālaṃkārālokā) [“Illumination of the Abhisamayālaṃkāra”]. Toh 3791, Degé Tengyur vol. 85 (shes phyin, cha), folios 1b–341a.
sa bcu pa sangs rgyas phal po che zhes bya ba las, sa bcu’i le’u ste, sum cu rtsa gcig pa’o (sa bcu pa’i mdo) (Daśa­bhūmika­sūtra) [“The Ten Bhūmis”]. Toh 44-31, Degé Kangyur vol. 36 (phal chen, kha), folios 166.a–283.a. English translation in Roberts 2021.
snying po mchog Ratnākaraśānti. ’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa brgyad stong pa’i dka’ ’grel snying po mchog. (Sāratamā) [“Quintessence”]. Toh 3803, Degé Tengyur vol. 89 (shes phyin, tha), folios 1b–230a.
ŚsPK Śata­sāhasrikā­prajña­paramitā. Edited by Takayasu Kimura. Tokyo: Sankibo Busshorin 2009 (II-1), 2010 (II-2, II-3), 2014 (II-4). Available online (input by Klaus Wille, Göttingen) at GRETIL.
ŚsPN3 Śata­sāhasrikā­prajña­paramitā NGMPP A 115/3, NAK Accession Number 3/632. Numbering of the scanned pages.
ŚsPN4 Śata­sāhasrikā­prajña­paramitā NGMPP B 91/3, NAK Accession Number 3/633. Numbering of the scanned pages.
ŚsPN4/2 Śata­sāhasrikā­prajña­paramitā NGMPP B 91/3, NAK Accession Number 3/633 (part two). Numbering of the scanned pages.
’bum shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag brgya pa (Śata­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā) [Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines]. Toh 8, Degé Kangyur vols. 14–25 (shes phyin, ’bum, ka–a). Citations are from the 1976–79 Karmapae chodhey gyalwae sungrab partun khang edition, first the Tib. vol. letter in italics, followed by the folio and line number. English translation in Sparham 2024.

n.

Notes

n.­1
Degé Tengyur vol. 213 (dkar chag, shrI), F.432b–433a. The four great “pathbreaker” traditions of interpretation (shing rta chen po’i srol bzhi or shing rta’i srol ’byed bzhi) are: (1) the Ornament for the Clear Realizations and all the commentaries based on it, (2) the Madhyamaka “corpus based on reasoning” (dbu ma rig pa’i tshogs, i.e. Nāgārjuna’s writings categorized as the Yuktikāya and by extension the Madhyamaka treatises in general), (3) the two Bṛhaṭṭīka commentaries discussed here, and (4) Dignāga’s Prajñāpāramitā­saṃgraha­kārikā (Toh 3809, also known as the Piṇḍārtha­saṃgraha), said to be characterized by its thirty-two topics, and its subcommentary the Prajñāpāramitā­saṃgraha­kārikā­vivaraṇa (Toh 3810).
n.­2
Denkarma, folio 305.a.6; see also Herrmann-Pfandt, pp. 293-294, no. 515. Phangthangma 2003, p. 35. The only substantial difference in the titles, as with so many canonical texts, is that “noble” is added as an honorific in present editions of the Tibetan canon.
n.­3
Among modern writers, Lama Chimpa and Alaka Chattopadhyaya (1997), Kazuo Kano and Xuezhu Li (2012, 2014), and Karl Brunnhölzl (2011b) use the title Bṛhaṭṭīkā.
n.­4
Abhisamayālaṅkārāloka (Toh 3791), Degé Tengyur vol. 85 F.2.a.
n.­5
Bhagavaty­āmnāyānusāriṇī­nāma­vyākhyā (bcom ldan ’das ma’i man ngag gi rjes su ’brang ba zhes bya ba’i rnam par bshad pa), Toh 3811.
n.­6
shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa ’bum pa rgya cher ’grel pa.
n.­7
’di yi gzhung ’grel gnod ’joms bya bar ’dod.
n.­8
One may understand the verse as follows: “Having reverently (gus par, ādārāt) bowed (phyag ’tshal te, namaskṛ) to the Mother of Victors (rgyal ba’i yum, jinajananī), the foremost perfection (pha rol phyin pa’i gtso, pāramitāgrā) in the form of wisdom (shes rab bdag nyid, prajñātmakā), I want to make (bya bar ’dod, cikīrṣitā) a Path (gzhung ’grel, paddhati) there on which the Thorns Have Been Trodden Down (gnod ’joms, marditakaṇṭakā) so the later scriptures (bla ma’i lung, uttarāgama) will be of benefit to me (bdag la phan pa’i phyir, ātmahitāya).” Alternative translation of the last part: “because the tradition of the gurus (bla ma’i lung, gurvāgama) has been of benefit to me (bdag la phan pa’i phyir, ātmahitāt).”
n.­29
See outline of Bṭ3 in the appendix.
n.­39
The translators have inserted into the text here the notation bam po dang po (the “first bam po,” or bundle of pages equal to about 300 lines of original text), together with their own homage.
n.­40
Alternatively, bdag la phan pa’i phyir could be rendered “In order that the tradition of the gurus will be of benefit to me.”
n.­41
Alternatively, chos kyi tshogs renders dharmakāya (“dharma body”).
n.­259
nyi khri 2.­5, ’bum 2.­5; khri brgyad 2.­4 “should develop.”
n.­260
Vajracchedikā, cited just before in the brief teaching Bṭ3 3.­20.
n.­261
This understands rigs pa as nyāya. If rigs pa renders yukti this means, “It means ‘because of the logic of not taking a stand anywhere.’ ”
n.­262
“Practice through the force of habit” (yang dag par spyod pa, samudācāra), “the achieving” (sgrub pa, pratipatti).
n.­263
Mahā­yāna­saṃgraha, 3.7 (Chodron’s undated English translation of Lamotte 1938, p. 219), explains the four investigations (yongs su btsal ba, paryeṣaṇā) that are connected with the preparatory stage (prayoga) of the path before awakening. The first two investigations discover that the names for things and the things themselves are both just articulated in the mind; the third that there is no intrinsic nature or intrinsic identity to be found in the names and things, it is just labeled onto them; and finally that the particular features distinguishing the names and things are just labeled onto them too. The four comprehensions (yongs su shes pa, parijñāna; Chodron “knowledges”) are, in each case, coming to the realization of “representation only” (rnam par rig pa tsam, vijñapti­mātratā). In each case the comprehension is associated with a more and more refined meditative stabilization that finally merges into awakening or clear realization (mngon rtogs, abhisamaya).
n.­264
Golden pha 58a shes rab kyis yongs su sbyong bar byed pa; K, N shes rab kyis sbyong bar byed pa. D shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa yongs su sbyor bar byed pa, “When, after giving or after the giving of a gift, they investigate with the four ways of investigating and comprehend properly with the four comprehensions, they apply themselves to the perfection of wisdom.”
n.­265
This is explaining upādāya (phyir) in khri brgyad 2.­3: “because a gift, giver, or recipient are not apprehended.”
n.­266
Similar to khri brgyad 45.­11, nyi khri 35.­14, ’bum ta 55a1.
n.­267
This is the nyi khri and ’bum reading, and the reading below at khri brgyad 2.­30. Here khri brgyad has “there is no physical or mental effort expended.”
n.­268
rtsol ba, *vyavasāya. The idea is that a worthy one ends up in nirvāṇa because of a deficient path, but a bodhisattva models nirvāṇa intentionally.
n.­269
khri brgyad 54.­4, le’u brgyad ma ca 24b4, LSPW pp. 406–7.
n.­270
’bum 2.­4.
n.­271
4.­818–4.­886 explaining khri brgyad 16.­1–16.­25.
n.­272
Golden 62a5 thob.
n.­273
By saying bodhisattvas meditate on the emptiness meditative stabilization and so on, not on just emptiness and so on, the scripture indicates these three are being taught in the context of a bodhisattva’s practice.
n.­274
“And so on” includes, at khri brgyad 2.­4, the “four immeasurables, four formless absorptions, eight deliverances, nine serial absorptions,” and so on.
n.­275
’bum 2.­10; khri brgyad and nyi khri differ slightly.
n.­276
“Product,” rab tu skye ba (prabhava), is one of the four aspects of the truth of origination.
n.­277
This is a conjectural translation of kun mthun par mkhyen pa, perhaps an abbreviation of chos thams cad stong pa nyid du rjes su mthun par mkhyen pa, “the subsequent knowledge that all dharmas are in accord with emptiness” that occurs just below. It would then mean the knowledge that everything is in accord with the ultimate, which is to say, is ultimately the same. For a detailed investigation of the knowledges see Mppś English pp. 1200–18. In the basic scriptures, awakening knowledge is first of the suffering, origination, cessation, and path as it pertains to the world in which we find ourselves (the “desire realm”) and then subsequently as it pertains to the form and formless realms. Based on this kun mthun pa, “all in agreement,” would mean that the practitioner knows all three realms are “in agreement,” which is to say are the same as suffering, originating from affliction and karma and so on.
n.­278
Mppś English vol. 3, p. 1205, says this is knowledge that what has been extinguished will not arise again and is absent from a buddha.
n.­279
Lamotte (Mppś English vol. 3, p. 1204), in his otherwise exhaustive and masterly explanation of the knowledges, mistakenly explains paricaya/parijaya as only related to paracitta, “knowledge of the minds of others,” without fully explaining its use in the perfection of wisdom. Altruistic “mastery” is central to the perfection of wisdom.
n.­280
4.­41. It means they do not do so in the way taught in the fundamental scriptures.
n.­281
Emend rkyan to rkyen.
n.­282
khri brgyad 54.­4, with slight differences; cf. le’u brgyad ma ca 24b4, ŚsPN4 9817v8, LSPW pp. 406–7.
n.­283
Better is ŚsPN4 9817v8 that has evaṃ, “thus,” in place of eva (nyid du), “actual.”
n.­284
Lamotte (Mppś English vol. 3, pp. 1204 and 2018) suggests the reading yathābhūta in place of yathāruta but khri brgyad ka 12a sgra ji bzhin shes is corroborated by Z’s yathāvat. Our author understands the compound along the lines of “whatever the sound.” LSPW (reading yathāruta, sgra ji bzhin pa) “according to the letter.” sgra ji bzhin pa can also mean, depending on the context, “a statement taken at face value,” or “literally,” or even “a description in accord with the facts.”
n.­285
’bum 2.­14 (ka 41a3), khri brgyad 2.­4. The list of six is not in any of the extant versions of shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag brgya pa. PSP 1-1:30, nyi khri 2.­5, Mppś, LSPW all omit.
n.­286
PSP 1-1:30 aṣṭau mahā­puruṣa­vitarkā(ḥ).
n.­287
AAVārt, Degé Tengyur (shes phyin, kha) 6b6 ff. The rnam ’grel (vārttika) “subcommentary” here is taken to be Bhadanta Vimuktisena’s *arya­pañca­viṃśati-sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitopadeśa­śāstrābhisamayālaṃkāra­kārikā­vārttika; cf. Sparham 2008–13, vol. 1, p. 8.
n.­288
Edg, s.v. sattvāvāsa. Vasubandhu (Abhidharmakośa 3.6cd) says the seven bases of consciousness (vijñānasthiti), along with the bhavāgra and unconscious (asaṃjñin) states, are the nine. The seven are (1) the bases of humans and gods in the desire realm, (2) of certain classes of gods in the retinue of Brahmā, (3) of the gods in the second concentration, (4) of the gods in the third concentration, and (5–7) of the gods in the first three formless absorptions. Cf. Sattāvāsasutta, Aṅguttaranikāya 9.24.
n.­289
It is unclear whether our author intends that some versions of the scripture read āyāsa? (gnod) in place of āvāsa (gnas) or whether this is simply a creative explanation of the nine sattvāvāsa.
n.­290
’bum 2.­15. khri brgyad 2.­5, nyi khri 2.­6 “of a knower of all aspects.”
n.­291
The fourth statement, “who want to perfect the knowledge of the aspects of the thought activity of all beings,” and the fifth statement, “who want to destroy all residual impressions, connections, and afflictions,” come after “all-knowledge.”
n.­292
nyi khri 2.­62, khri brgyad 2.­50 (with slight differences); Z 384.
n.­293
nyi khri 2.­80, khri brgyad 2.­64, reading yon tan rnams nye bar ’dzin to; Dutt 37.12 upādadāti; Z 387; LSPW p. 37.
n.­294
Cf. Braavig, Tib text vol. i, p. 15; translation vol. ii, p. 242.
n.­295
Lamotte (Mppś English vol. 5, p. 2029, n. 399) cites the term sarva­vāsanānusandhi­kleśa­prahāṇa from the Skt and Tib to support his observation that bodhisattvas are called tathāgatas at the tenth level when they eliminate the residual impressions (vāsanā). They only eliminate affliction (kleśa) at the eighth level, when they obtain the forbearance for the nonproduction of all dharmas. He does not explain connection (anusaṃdhi) separately.
n.­296
Closest is khri brgyad ka 12b4 sems kyi spyod pa’i rnam par shes pa; cf. ’bum ka 41b6, nyi khri ka 28b6 sems dang/spyod pa dang/shes pa’i rnam par shes pa.
n.­297
khri brgyad 2.­9, Z 377–78.
n.­298
khri brgyad 2.­19, Z 379.
n.­299
khri brgyad 2.­30, Z 382.
n.­300
khri brgyad 2.­50, Z 384, LSPW pp. 31–33.
n.­301
Cf. below at 4.­483. skyon med pa nyid (niyāmatā/nyāmatā) by itself is rendered “flawlessness”; when together with byang chub sems dpa’ (bodhi­sattvanyāma), skyon med pa (niyāma/nyāma) is “the secure state” or “flawlessness” (of bodhisattvas); when together with “dharmas” (dharmaniyāmatā/nyāmatā), skyon med pa nyid is “certification” (of dharmas).
n.­302
The antecedent of “that” is the nyāma (“flawlessness”) in the word bodhi­sattvanyāma (“secure state of a bodhisattva”) understood as the tathāgata­garbha, here understood as the buddha nature found in all beings.
n.­303
This is from the Vajracchedikā cited earlier at 3.­4.
n.­304
Our author means that the attribute (dharma) qualifying all phenomena is their shared thoroughly established nature. This nature is certified as being the attribute in the state of perfect, complete awakening.
n.­305
To sum up, our author is explaining the compound bodhi­sattvanyāma not as the nyāma (“secure state” or “flawlessness”) of a bodhisattva but the nyāma that is bodhi and sattva.
n.­306
This is likely a citation from or a paraphrase of The Ten Bhūmis but I have not been able to identify a specific passage so I have rendered it here as a general statement.
n.­307
khri brgyad 2.­9 says, “Moreover, Śāriputra, bodhisattva great beings who want to thoroughly establish a buddha’s body should train in the perfection of wisdom. If they want to acquire the thirty-two marks and the eighty minor signs of a great person, they should train in the perfection of wisdom.”
n.­308
The Ten Bhūmis, 1.­652 (Roberts 2021b); (Rahder, VIII Q, p. 71) kumārety ucyate ’navadyatvāt.
n.­309
khri brgyad 2.­12: “Moreover, Śāriputra, bodhisattva great beings who want to establish all beings in a world as vast as the dharma-constituent and as far-reaching as the space element in the perfection of giving, and who want to establish them in the perfection of morality, the perfection of patience, the perfection of perseverance, the perfection of concentration, and the perfection of wisdom, should train in the perfection of wisdom.”
n.­310
blo gros mi zad pa’i mdo. This is The Teaching of Akṣayamati (Akṣaya­mati­nirdeśa, blo gros mi zad pas bstan pa, Toh 175; Braarvig 2018).
n.­311
The “I am my own master” is a refrain in collection 23 (ātmavarga) of the Udānavarga (Bernhard edition): ātmā tv ihātmano nāthaḥ; ched du brjod pa’i tshoms, Degé Tengyur (mngon pa, tu), 21b7–22b1. The other two are similar to pāpakavarga 28; ched du brjod pa’i tshoms, 28b4–5; and prakirṇaka­varga 16.3 uttiṣṭhata vyāyam ata kurudhvaṃ dvīpam ātmanaḥ; ched du brjod pa’i tshoms, 15b6.
n.­312
khri brgyad ka 10.­63, LSPW pp. 158–60.
n.­313
khri brgyad 15.­11, LSPW pp. 189–91.
n.­314
“True dharmic nature eyes” (dharmatācakṣus, chos nyid kyi mig) are the eyes from the perspective of their ultimate attribute‍—nondual emptiness.
n.­315
This and below at 4.­541–4.­547 are important for understanding works discussing other-emptiness (gzhan stong) in fourteenth century Tibet.
n.­316
khri brgyad 10.­63.
n.­317
khri brgyad 14.­34.
n.­318
Golden pha 74b4 pas; D par.
n.­319
Here is a literal translation of this passage: “Like this, in someone who has seen the city of the gandharvas, an intellectually active awareness (blo) of the city is born. Then, afterward, when one has really explored and looked for just that city and does not see it, the intellectually active awareness of the city disappears (blo med par gyur). But it is not suitable to say, when intellectually active awareness of the empty is born, that there is some other, different entity‍—empty of the intellectually active awareness of the city‍—because intellectually active awareness of the empty was born in that one. Similarly, here as well, having seen a falsely imagined shape and so on as a shape, an intellectually active awareness of a dharma is born. Then, when a search has been made for it as it really is, because the knowledge of it as it really is does not see that dharma, it is simply that the intellectually active awareness of the dharma is not there and an intellectually active awareness of the empty is born. It is not suitable to say that because an intellectually active awareness of the empty is born there, there is some other, different dharma‍—‘the empty’‍—there.” Cited in Jagattalanivāsin’s Bhagavatyāmnāyānusāriṇī­nāma­vyākhyā, bcom ldan ’das ma’i man ngag gi rjes su brang ba zhes bya ba’i rnam par bshad pa, Degé Tengyur (shes phyin, ba), 286b3–6.
n.­320
K, N.
n.­321
Bhagavatyāmnāyānusāriṇī, Degé Tengyur (shes phyin, ba), 285b5–7 is a different translation of the same passage.
n.­322
D has “attain clairvoyance.”
n.­323
sgyu ma’i sngags gis… mig bslus. I take lta ba bcings, “having mesmerized,” (Bhagavatyāmnāyānusāriṇī, 286a1) as a gloss, not a different translation.
n.­324
khri brgyad 20.­80.
n.­325
D “one talks of their ‘lack of an intrinsic nature.’ ”
n.­326
Emend di ltar to de ci ltar (Bhagavatyāmnāyānusāriṇī, 287b4).
n.­327
K, N kyis; D kyi. Alternatively, rang nyid kyi gzung ba med du zin may mean “it is itself already not a grasped-object.”
n.­328
N has “nominal” (btags) existence.
n.­329
khri brgyad 16.­97.
n.­330
khri brgyad 3.­130.
n.­331
This is a tentative translation of nag pa (citrā) grong (gṛha) du phyin pa dang / grong nas byung ba yang gcig. I understand grong to mean one of the stations or mansions through which the sun or moon, understood as a celestial body, passes.
n.­332
Udānavarga 1.19 dīrgho bālasya saṃsāraḥ; ched du brjod pa’i tshoms, Degé Tengyur (mngon pa, tu), 2b4.
n.­333
Cited in Prajñāvarman’s Udāna­varga­vivaraṇa, ched du brjod pa’i tshoms kyi rnam par ’grel pa, Degé Tengyur (mngon pa, thu), 115b1 on Udānavārga 3.12–13.
n.­334
Cp. khri brgyad 24.­65 “you cannot apprehend a prior limit.”
n.­335
Udānavarga, ched du brjod pa’i tshoms, Degé Tengyur (mngon pa, tu), 25b7–28a2 differs slightly; Bernhard 1965 omits.
n.­336
Conze’s rendering of the distinctly Buddhist word anavakāra (Tib dor ba med pa) as “nonrepudiation” has been retained because of the -kāra ending, even though the explanation here suggests a better translation is “absence of the repudiated.”
n.­337
Prajñāvarman’s Udāna­varga­vivaraṇa, ched du brjod pa’i tshoms kyi rnam par ’grel pa, Degé Tengyur (mngon pa, thu), 71b3 sangs rgyas thams cad ni mnyam par yi ge dang tshig gcig nges par mi ston te/ ’od srungs kyi gsung rab la phung po nyid yod par ston to. Alternatively, de bzhin gshegs pa ’od srungs kyi gsung rab may mean the scriptures of the Kāśyapīya subschool of the Sarvāstivādins. Cf. Pūrṇavardana’s Abhi­dharma­kośa­ṭīkā, chos mngon par chos kyi ’grel bshad mtshan nyid kyi rjes su ’brang ba, Degé Tengyur (mngon pa, cu), 170b rnam par ’drid pa lnga zhes bya ba ni phun po lnga zhes bya ba’i don te/ de bzhin gshegs pa ’od srungs kyi gsung rab las phung po la rnam par ’drid pa zhes bya ba ming btags pa yin no; Karashima 2015, p. 117.
n.­338
“Now” means during the time of the Tathāgata Śākyamuni.
n.­339
Golden pha 82b5, D mi rtag pa omit.
n.­340
“Attributes” renders chos (dharma).
n.­341
“Special attributes of a buddha” renders sangs rgyas kyi chos (buddhadharma).
n.­342
“Things” renders chos (dharma).
n.­343
This means it is the ultimate attribute of those attribute possessors. The word chos (dharma) here has a number of overlapping meanings because any attribute (dharma) can be an attribute possessor (chos can, dharmin), but all attribute possessors can be understood as indivisible with their ultimate attribute and hence are called just things or phenomena or attributes (dharma). Put another way, everything can stand as a basis for an investigation that leads to its ultimate nature (=chos can), and this ultimate nature is in this sense its ultimate attribute (=chos).
n.­344
The explanations of the emptiness of dharmas and emptiness of marks here is similar to the analysis of marks (lakṣaṇa) in Nāgārjuna’s Mūla­madhyama­kakārikā chapter five.
n.­345
This, unlike the general characterizing mark “impermanent,” is a specific characterizing mark of the first of the five aggregates as distinct from the second aggregate, for example.
n.­346
khri brgyad 20.­76 et passim, where this is rendered “all dharmas are the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature.”
n.­347
dngos po med pa’i ngo bo nyid, abhāvasvabhāva. The Skt compound consists of three parts: a, a negative prefix; bhava, “existent thing”; and svabhāva, “intrinsic nature.” In what follows the parts of the compound are treated in different ways. Usually I have rendered abhāva­svabhāva­śūnyatā as “the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature,” but there are many different ways of breaking the compound, some of which are explained here.
n.­348
As a bahuvrihi, abhāvasvabhāva means: “all dharmas have nonexistence (abhāva) as their intrinsic nature (svabhāva).”
n.­349
I have rendered dngos po (bhāva) “existent thing” here for consistency, but as our author explains immediately after this statement, it means the things in ordinary life that deluded people mistakenly take to be truly real.
n.­350
I have rendered dngos po (bhāva) “existent thing” here for consistency, but as our author explains immediately after this statement, it means the things in ordinary life that deluded people mistakenly take to be truly real.
n.­351
This is a different way of dissolving the compound dngos po med pa’i ngo bo nyid, abhāvasvabhāva. If our author intends not a bahuvrīhi here, but a tatpuruṣa compound, he is saying it is called “the intrinsic nature that is not an existent thing,” that which has no existent thing for its intrinsic nature
n.­352
Śūnyatā­nāma­mahā­śūtra, mdo chen po stong pa nyid (mdo sde, sha), 250b1, cited in Vasubandhu’s Madhyānta­vibhāgabhāṣya (Nagao edition, 18.4–7) evaṃ yad yatra nāsti tat tena śūnyam iti yathābhūtaṃ samanupaśyati yat punar atrāvaśiṣṭaṃ bhavati tat sad ihāstīti yathābhūtaṃ prajānātīty; dbus dang mtha’ rnam par ’byed pa’i ’grel pa, Degé Tengyur (sems tsam, bi), 2a2–3. Hopkins (1999, pp. 183–84 notes a and b) discusses the origin of the citation and supplies complete references to earlier Tib and modern interpretations of this passage. Here bcom ldan ’das supports the position that the citation is from a sūtra.
n.­353
This renders D shin tu rtogs pa ma yin. Golden pha 85a2 shin tu rtog pa yin, “is absolutely a thought construction.”
n.­354
khri brgyad 48.­94, 83.­61, and 54.­22; LSPW pp. 408–9, 476, 582.
n.­355
The Ten Bhūmis (Rahder, p. 87).
n.­356
These are included among the ten powers; cf. khri brgyad 16.­81.
n.­357
Z 312 n. 536 “interstitial dark place”; Edg, s.v. lokāntarikā, “world-interstitial-spheres.” It is noteworthy that lokāntarikā is not present in our author’s version of the Sūtra.
n.­358
The secrets of the body of a tathāgata are explained in the seventh chapter (sku’i gsang ba’i le’u) of the de bshin gshegs pa’i gsang ba bsam gyis mi khyab pa’i bstan pa (Tathāgatācintya­guhya­nirdeśa), Degé Kangyur (dkon brtsegs, ka), F.126.a–F.132.b.
n.­359
bskyed. kyer kyer / kye re, “upright”; skye, “become upright”; skyed, “make upright.”
n.­360
bzur, perfect form of ’dzur; cf. zur, the resultative form “on the side.”
n.­361
mjing pa bsgyur. Jāschke s.v. ’jing. There is a relation between gya gyu, “crooked”; ’gyur, “change”; sgyu, “deceit”; and sgyur, “change.” Lamotte and Conze take this as the meaning of “the elephant’s look” and connect it with the historical Buddha’s turning fully around to gaze on the world he is about to leave.
n.­362
Alternatively, ji ltar ’dug pa and ji ltar lta ba may mean “with their acts in perfect accord [with reality] and with eyes that see [all reality] just as it is.”
n.­363
khri brgyad 2.­55.
n.­364
khri brgyad 2.­63.
n.­365
The four ways of gathering a retinue are by means of: gifts (dāna), kind words (priyavacana), beneficial actions (arthacaryā/kriyā), and samānārthatā / samāna­sukha­duḥkhatā. Edg, s.v. samānārthatā renders the last “adopting of the same aims for himself which he preaches to others” and “having the same joys and sorrows.” It means practicing what you preach. Here it means adapting to the prevailing set of values.
n.­366
Lalitavistara. The Tib. translation here differs from rgya cher rol pa, Lhasa Kangyur 96 (mdo sde, kha), 115b6–116a5 (closest); Degé Kangyur (mdo sde, kha), 71b5–72a2. Cf. The Play in Full, 12.­3–12.­7 (Dharmachakra 2013).
n.­367
This renders ’chi (maraṇa); Kangyur ’thab mo (saraṇa): “conflict,” “violence.”
n.­368
’khrul ’khor (yantra); Kangyur dug gi lo ma (pātra).
n.­369
Kangyur ’dam dang lcag lcig khrod nas padma rnam par ’phel.
n.­370
amṛte; Kangyur ’chi med: “He leads trillions of beings to the deathless state.” aṃṛta means both “immortal” and “ambrosia, divine nectar.”
n.­371
Emend bsten to Kangyur bstan (darśita).
n.­372
It is noteworthy that this chapter title in khri brgyad is omitted from nyi khri 2.­82.
n.­373
khri brgyad 3.­2.
n.­374
K, N; D “the conceptualization of practice.”
n.­375
Alternatively, “therefore, that which is the emptiness that is a nonexistence does exist.”
n.­376
The punctuation at khri brgyad 3.­2 differs slightly.
n.­377
“It”‍—the statement‍—“does not have the fault” of saying bodhisattvas are absolutely existent.
n.­378
D. The translation based on K, N, and Golden pha 91b2 is “if they ultimately exist.” The idea is that if the ultimate emptiness is not just a name as a falsely imagined phenomena, all the other ordinary phenomena will not be either. D “if they ultimately do not exist.”
n.­379
D. The translation based on K, N, and Golden pha 92a5 is: “ ‘does not reside somewhere’ teaches that the illusion is marked as having form, because dharmas having form reside somewhere.”
n.­380
D rten cing ’brel ba’i chos; K, N rten cing rten pa’i chos; Golden pha 92b6 rten cing brten pa’i chos; khri brgyad ka 24a7 chos so so tha dad pa, prati­prati­dharma, “in the case of each of these different dharmas.” Kumārajīva’s translation of the corresponding section of the Śatasāhasrikā (translated Z 206, n. 45) is: “Designations are dharmas produced by the combination of causes and conditions.” LSPW pp. 38–39 “counter-dharma” (pp. 38–39, n. 5: “The passage may, however, be corrupt”). It may be that “those interdependent” was not in our author’s version of the Sūtra, but should be understood as an explanation of prati prati.
n.­381
These are the five aggregates onto which the bodhisattva is labeled.
n.­382
Cf. Edg, s.v. upaṇiśā, rendered in Tib by rgyu, “cause.” The idea is that the cause dictates the result, but it is impossible to describe a complex of causes big enough to give rise to this resultant perfection of wisdom.
n.­383
This is a conjectural rendering of shod dgod/god.
n.­384
This tautology in English is because our author is dissolving a Skt compound word into its component parts. The four are Jambu, Videha, Godānīya, and Kuru.
n.­385
This is the trisāhasra­mahā­sāhasra, Conze’s “trichiliocosm.”
n.­386
This wisdom is “detached from” or “isolated from” (vivikta) every possible defilement.
n.­387
Das, s.v. ’gre ba, is right to connect the word with peyāla (paryāya), a set of passages connected because they are explaining a single topic; Mvy has parivarta for ’gres pa.
n.­388
khri brgyad 3.­9.
n.­389
khri brgyad 3.­17.
n.­390
khri brgyad 3.­21.
n.­391
The word yuj includes within its range of meaning “yoking to,” “endeavoring at,” “joining with,” and “engaging in a correct practice of.”
n.­392
K, N “aggregates, sense fields, elements, truths, links of dependent origination, all dharmas, and the compounded and uncompounded.”
n.­393
This is not exactly the same as any of the extant versions of the Sūtra that all have med (“there is no”) in place of yang dag par rjes su ma mthong (“they do not see”); khri brgyad 3.­28.
n.­394
Mūla­madhyamaka­kārikā 1.1.
n.­395
Mūla­madhyamaka­kārikā 15.8; 16.8; 5.3.
n.­396
D yang gcig tu na; Golden pha 100b5 yang na, “alternatively.”
n.­397
One of the meanings of dharma is something that holds its own identity.
n.­398
khri brgyad 3.­23 lists the defining marks of each aggregate. Each dharma is a separate entity so if they were all to merge together like streams they would lose their identity, so it is not possible for them to have aggregated.
n.­399
Emend D ’khrul pa yod to Golden 101b2 ’khrul pa med.
n.­400
Alternatively, if a bahuvrihi compound, “they appear with emptiness as their mark.”
n.­401
This renders gzugs su yod pa as equivalent to gzugs su rung ba, the standard definition of rūpa (gzugs). Setting aside the various etymologies, Tib gzugs su yod pa, “that which occupies a place,” is a resultant form of ’dzugs.
n.­402
’dus nas shes is probably a different rendering of the same Skt rendered in khri brgyad 3.­23 (ka 29a) kun tu shes, explaining the saṃ in saṃjñā.
n.­403
K, N. D, where the editor has understood “spoken earlier” as the “emptiness” spoken earlier in the statement “form is itself emptiness, and emptiness is form,” and the “all aspects” as all phenomena understood from the perspective of their true dharmic nature, their ultimate attribute emptiness. The editor of Golden 102b6 reads kyi (“teaches all the aspects of emptiness spoken about earlier”), and understands the “earlier” to be a reference to the last section when our author said this passage in the Sūtra is broken down into four subsections.
n.­404
The eleven are the seven emptinesses (of aggregates, sense fields, elements, truths, dependent origination, all dharmas or dharmas taken as a totality, and compounded and uncompounded dharmas) together with the four (the intrinsic nature of each‍—form and so on separately‍—that cannot be apprehended, the intrinsic nature of them as a collection or confluence that cannot be apprehended, the defining mark of a particular dharma that cannot be apprehended, and the totality of dharmas that cannot be apprehended).
n.­405
“The endeavor” (yujyamāna, brtson pa); “engaged” (yukta, brtson).
n.­406
“Originating” (bhāva, ’byung ba); “perishing” (vibhāva, ’jigs pa).
n.­407
This is a conjectural translation of ’dres mar. Based on khri brgyad 3.­42–3.­43, it incorporates the four possibilities (practicing, not practicing, and so on), and practicing for the sake of the perfections and so on, up to the very limit of reality.
n.­408
khri brgyad 3.­29.
n.­409
This is the first of the three gateways to liberation.
n.­410
This emptiness is the emptiness of the emptiness meditative stabilization gateway.
n.­411
“Yogic practice” (yoga, rnal ’byor).
n.­412
“Cognitive dimension” renders rnam pa (ākāra).
n.­413
khri brgyad 3.­35 (ka 31a7) sbyor bar byed. The same yojaya (Ghoṣa 262, Dutt 57, and Z 398) is rendered variously into Tib by both sbyor and sbyor bar byed. Dorjé renders nyi khri 2.­129 (ka 52b) mi sbyor mi ’byed as “they neither associate with nor disassociate from physical forms.”
n.­414
Z follows Edg in rendering avatṝ (’jug) here as “comprehend.”
n.­415
“By way of apprehending consequences” renders las dang ’bras bu dmigs pa’i tshul gyis.
n.­416
A “maturation” means a form of life.
n.­417
’bum 2.­277, nyi khri 2.­132, Twenty-Five Thousand translation “owing to emptiness with respect to the sameness of the three times”) differ.
n.­418
khri brgyad 3.­40.
n.­419
The rest of the aggregates with origination and so on, and with pleasure, suffering, self, no self, calm, and not calm.
n.­420
’bum 2.­352, khri brgyad omit.
n.­421
A rnam par rtog pa (usually rendered “idea” or “conceptualization”) here means a “possibility” or “alternative.” The Tib versions of the Sūtra have all four conceptualizations of “practicing, not practicing, practicing and not practicing, and not practicing and not not practicing.” The last two are absent from the Skt versions.
n.­422
Cf. 2.­5.
n.­423
This renders de gnyis kyi las bstan to. Alternatively, this may just be a way of saying, like Bṭ1 na 64a6–7 phrad pa’am mi phrad pa zhes bya ba yang ’du ba dang ’bral ba’i rnam grangs tsam du zad do, “they are synonyms.”
n.­424
This means from the attainment of the forbearance for dharmas that are not produced and the matured perfections on the eighth level.
n.­425
khri brgyad 3.­53 (ka 37a1) bskyed; ’bum 2.­476 (ka 160a4); nyi khri 2.­160 (ka 61a5) skyed, “do not produce a miserly thought.”
n.­426
Maitreya lives in the Tuṣita heaven ready to be “reborn” as a Śākyamuni-like buddha.
n.­427
skyon med pa; rendered at khri brgyad 3.­72 “flawlessness.”
n.­428
viṣkandaka (thod rgal) (variously avaskandha, avaskandhaka, or as in Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośa 8.73, vyutkrāntaka) means “leaping above”; see khri brgyad n.­79 at 3.­75 for an explanation, and khri brgyad 62.­54–62.­56 for the full account of this meditative stabilization.
n.­429
brtun is a perfective voluntary form of ’dun; cf. Jäschke, s.v. rtun, dun.
n.­430
bsdus is glossing sdom (saṃvara). Alternatively, even though it is not contextually appropriate, the author might intend that they have gathered (saṃgrah) a retinue through morality.
n.­431
khri brgyad 3.­97.
n.­432
K, N la bka’ stsal.
n.­433
At khri brgyad 3.­104 the statement, “Śāriputra, there are bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom cleansing the awakening path who are practicing the perfection of giving,” and so on, comes immediately before Śāriputra’s question.
n.­434
These are the ten powers (bala) of a tathāgata, khri brgyad 16.­81–16.­89.
n.­435
khri brgyad K, N ka 121–22; khri brgyad 3.­133 differs slightly; PSP 1-1: 101–2.
n.­436
Golden pa 112b6, citing khri brgyad 3.­127. D differs.
n.­437
Golden pa 113a3–4, citing khri brgyad 3.­134.
n.­438
khri brgyad 3.­134 ff. says that bodhisattvas inclined to generosity, morality, and so on practice each of the six perfections in turn, but their inclination to one does not preclude the practice of them all together.
n.­439
khri brgyad 3.­140.
n.­440
The eight are listed earlier at 1.­31 and are explained below 4.­833.
n.­441
This summarizes from khri brgyad 3.­146 up to the end of chapter 3 (3.­153‍—prophesy); up to the end of chapter 4 (4.­6‍—praise); up to the end of chapter 5 (5.­14‍—the diffusion of the light and so on); and up to Ghoṣa 322.
n.­442
2.­5. The last two are “the subdivisions of the endeavor, and the specific instruction for coming to an authoritative conclusion about this exposition.”
n.­443
Golden 104b1 emends D bus to bu. Śāriputra is being addressed by Subhūti. Śāriputra is not stating this as a fact.
n.­444
bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo, s.v. stsol, says it is an archaic form of sel (past tense bsal); s.v. sel ba, 2 gives the example dmigs kyis bsal ba (“zero in on a particular”).
n.­445
Perhaps this means discourses “intended for oneself, intended for others, and given when the time is ripe.”
n.­446
In this section the following conventions are employed for compounds with the word prajñapti (rendered into Tib by forms of ’dogs): btags pa (prajñapti), “designation,” “designated”; in its basic meaning “something that makes something else known”; “label,” “labeled”; ming du btags pa (nāmaprajñapti), “name designation”; chos su btags pa (dharma­prajñapti), “dharma designation”; btags pa’i chos (prajñapti­dharma), “phenomenon that is a label”; tha snyad du gdags pa (vyavahṛ passive), “use conventionally”; and ming dang brda (nāma/saṃjñā-saṃketa), “name and conventional term,” and ming gi brda, “name that is a conventional term.”
n.­447
khri brgyad 6.­4.
n.­448
K, N; D “these dharmas are not dual.”
n.­449
btags pa. Golden 116a1–2 brtags pa’i/pas gdams pa, “instruction about what has been conceptualized.”
n.­450
khri brgyad 6.­34 “understand that it is a dharma designation that is a name and conventional term.” ’bum 3.­113 (ka 236b4), nyi khri 3.­75 (ka 99a1) have the preferable reading ming dang brdar bya ba’i chos su gdags pa rnams de ltar, “understand the conventional usage of dharmas that are names and conventional terms.”
n.­451
khri brgyad 6.­57.
n.­452
The other three questions at khri brgyad 6.­35 are: “or is the bodhisattva in form, or is form in the bodhisattva, or is the bodhisattva without form?”
n.­453
Ghoṣa 432, Gilgit 48r10, PSP 1-1:139, ’bum 3.­656, nyi khri 3.­142, and le’u brgyad ma ga 115b5. khri brgyad 6.­51 “when a being.”
n.­454
khri brgyad 6.­56.
n.­455
khri brgyad 6.­57, citing 6.­4 (ka 58a3), but without sems dpa’.
n.­456
khri brgyad 6.­62.
n.­457
Golden 116b3. D “not apprehending the elder Subhūti’s word.”
n.­458
khri brgyad 6.­67 with a slight difference.
n.­459
’bum 3.­744.
n.­460
khri brgyad 6.­68, citing 6.­4. It is noteworthy that here there is only bodhisattva (’bum 3.­4, nyi khri 3.­4) not bodhisattva great being.
n.­461
This exact citation is not in the other scriptures beginning from ’bum 3.­745, nyi khri 3.­180, PSP 1-1:145, or Ghoṣa 470. Closest is khri brgyad 6.­68.
n.­462
khri brgyad 6.­74.
n.­463
K, N phyis; D phyir.
n.­464
nyi khri 3.­28; khri brgyad 6.­23 “names that are conventional terms”; Gilgit 41v7, Kimura 1-1:114. prajñapti is rendered here in line with its basic meaning as a causal form of the root jñā. There is a sense of altruism in prajñapti, where all dharmas are what they are, to make known to others their lack of an intrinsic nature in order to liberate them. Alternatively (rendering prajñapti by “designation,” “designated”; Tib btags pa), “they should train in designation that is names and conventional terms, in designation that is advice, and in designation as the dharmas.”
n.­465
While giving advice they remain free from the two extremes.
n.­466
Both are the names and conventional terms that make things known, and advice that makes things known.
n.­467
khri brgyad 6.­29, “Because, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom do not mentally construct and do not conceptualize all those dharmas.”
n.­468
’bum 3.­104, nyi khri 3.­61.
n.­469
khri brgyad 6.­29, ’bum 3.­105, nyi khri 3.­61, Gilgit 44v2, PSP 1-1: 128; Ghoṣa 372 omits.
n.­470
khri brgyad 6.­29.
n.­471
D; K, N “that is the object of nonconceptualization.”
n.­472
Here tathatā (“suchness,” “reality”) has the sense of “the state that remains just as it is.”
n.­473
’bum 3.­124, nyi khri 3.­75. PSP 1-1, Ghoṣa, and Gilgit 44v8 nāmasāṃketikī dharmaprajñaptir, rendered in LSPW p. 106 “the concept of dharma as a word and conventional term.”
n.­474
4.­425. A threefold subset of conceptualizations is set out as falling within the province (1) of insight, (2) of the three gateways to liberation, and (3) of the perfect analytic understanding of the reality of dharmas.
n.­475
khri brgyad 6.­33.
n.­476
’bum 3.­125; nyi khri 3.­76: “You have said, Subhūti, that ‘The Lord says “bodhisattva” again and again.’ ”
n.­477
Golden 121a1–2 yongs su brtags pa; D yongs su btags pa “labeled,” “designated.”
n.­478
More exactly, “bodhisattvahood” (byang chub sems dpa’ nyid).
n.­479
khri brgyad 6.­69; 6.­5 has the same slightly abbreviated list.
n.­480
Golden 112a6, D delete de. This is a name for the Vaiśeṣikas.
n.­481
The sequence of questions and responses goes up to khri brgyad 6.­49.
n.­482
khri brgyad 6.­47.
n.­483
khri brgyad 6.­50.
n.­484
khri brgyad 6.­53.
n.­485
Cf. khri brgyad 6.­57, citing 6.­5. Here again, as at Bṭ3 4.­438, citing khri brgyad 6.­68 citing 6.­5, it is noteworthy that there is only bodhisattva (as at ’bum 3.­4, nyi khri 3.­4) not bodhisattva great being.
n.­486
khri brgyad 6.­67.
n.­487
The full sentence is: “Again, Subhūti, you say, ‘I do not see that‍—namely, the phenomenon bodhisattva.’ ” Cf. khri brgyad 6.­68, citing a passage similar to 6.­4 (that has ming gi chos in place of just chos); ’bum 3.­4; nyi khri 3.­4.
n.­488
khri brgyad 6.­68.
n.­489
Nothing else, no other state of consciousness, sees the state when, ultimately, nothing sees anything.
n.­490
Golden 125a1 tha dad par de.
n.­491
Alternatively, “You cannot designate (gdags) the uncompounded without the compounded.”
n.­492
khri brgyad 6.­68.
n.­493
In the list at khri brgyad 6.­5, there are sixteen, and here there are twelve. The other nine are “one who lives, an individual, a person, one born of Manu, a child of Manu, one who does, one who feels, one who knows, and one who sees.”
n.­494
These are the six consciousnesses, such as eye consciousness, that engage with their objects. The “foundation consciousness” is the ālayavijñāna, kun gzhi shes pa, literally “basis-of-all consciousness.”
n.­495
The “afflicted thinking mind” is the kliṣṭamanas, nyon yid, the seventh of the eighth consciousnesses.
n.­496
This is the fifth of the eight parts of the exposition (listed at 2.­5) of the statement (khri brgyad 2.­1), “Here, Śāriputra, bodhisattva great beings who want to fully awaken to all dharmas in all forms should make an effort at the perfection of wisdom.”
n.­497
This is the seventh chapter, “Entry into Flawlessness,” khri brgyad 7.­1–7.­31.
n.­498
khri brgyad 7.­1.
n.­499
This should possibly be emended to “obtain the meditative stabilization gateways,” or, alternatively, it should be taken as a summary paraphrase of the whole section; cf. khri brgyad 7.­8, ’bum 4.­16–4.­18, nyi khri 4.­5–4.­6.
n.­500
K, N.
n.­501
This means they are included in the third of the four benefits listed just above, but for stylistic purposes explained later.
n.­502
“Big flaw” renders skyon chen po attested at ’bum ka 319b5, nyi khri ka 120a7. khri brgyad ka 71a1 skyon gyi spyi gtsug, and le’u brgyad ma ga 124b1 rtse mo’i skyon (“hardheadedness”), render Ghoṣa 486 bodhi­sattvasyāmaḥ or PSP 1-1: 150 bodhi­sattva­mūrdhāmaḥ more exactly; cf. Edg, s.v. mūdhāma, who comments on Ghoṣa’s reading, and Conze’s notes to LSPW pp. 119–21.
n.­503
This renders spyi bor gyur pa (mūrdhagata; usually rendered rtse mor gyur pa). Our author likely intends the second of the four divisions of the aids to knowledge that penetrates reality.
n.­504
khri brgyad, ’bum, and nyi khri omit mthun. mthun pa’i chos renders anudharma, a word specific to this context that means something is a proper practice, but it is not so from a bodhisattva’s perspective if it is polluted by a persistent negative attachment to it. Edg, s.v. undharma, cites Childers’ Pāli Dictionary, s.v. anudhammam, as an adverb meaning “in accordance with the dhamma.”
n.­505
This relates āma = skyon (“rawness,” “hardheadedness”) with āmana (“affection for something”) and hence with vikalpa (“mental construction”).
n.­506
This explains nyāma (skyon med pa) as niyā and āma; MDPL, s.v. nyāma, “way of salvation.”
n.­507
khri brgyad 7.­20.
n.­508
Correct D bden to ldan.
n.­509
khri brgyad 7.­23. Śāriputra is asking Subhūti the question.
n.­510
D; Golden 128b3 sems ma yin pa “with the mark of no thought.”
n.­511
This is the same at khri brgyad 7.­25. nyi khri 4.­19 “is then… your question… appropriate?” is better.
n.­512
This section begins the seventh of the eight subsections introduced earlier (2.­5).
n.­513
nges par ’byin pa, nairyāṇika, “cause going forth” (describing the true path) is derived from nges par ’byung ba, niryāṇa (describing the true cessation). Here nges par ’byung ba has the meaning of “going forth.” Below (4.­564) it has the additional meaning of a “definite emergence” or “escape,” and at 4.­1168 a yāna is understood as both a “going,” and a “vehicle,” and the great niryāṇa is equated with the Great Vehicle and has the meaning of “that from which going has gone.”
n.­514
Alternatively, thabs la sgrub pa may be rendered “progress in the method.” Below (4.­609) our author calls this section brtson par sgrub pa, “practice as perseverance,” and (4.­620) brtson pa’i sgrub pa “practice of perseverance,” with the practice of method as a subset.
n.­515
khri brgyad 8.­12 is closest but Subhūti, not the Lord, is speaking, and “will be near the knowledge of all aspects” is omitted.
n.­516
khri brgyad 8.­1.
n.­517
“Scripture that is authoritative about a specific instruction” (gtan la dbab pa’i bstan pa, upadeśa) is the twelfth of the twelve divisions of a buddha’s sacred speech (pravacana), an authoritative statement about a specific karmic result that has a specific karmic cause utterly hidden from any ordinary knowledge, usually a story in the Vinaya to explain particular occurrences that occasion instructions on a particular point of conduct; cf. Haribhadra (Wogihara, pp. 92–93) āgamapramāṇa (lung gi tshad ma), “valid cognition based on a scripture,” “authoritative scripture.”
n.­518
K, N gang zag gang la.
n.­519
“Uneasy” renders ’gyod pa (kaukṛtya); “done badly” (nyes par byas pa) is explaining the word based on the root kṛ (“to do”) and the suffix ku (“deviating,” “bad”).
n.­520
Golden 131b1 bzhag.
n.­521
The disgust is separate in the list in khri brgyad 8.­6; ’bum 5.­131; nyi khri 5.­10; PSP 1-1: 158, le’u brgyad ma ga 132b4 omit.
n.­522
PSP 1-2: 63 yā utpādād vā tathāgatānāṃ anutpādād vā sthitaivaiṣā dharmāṇāṃ dharmatā; khri brgyad 62.­40.
n.­523
“Breaking through” (rab tu rtogs, prativyadh); alternatively, “awaken to” (rab tu rtogs, prabudh).
n.­524
K, N mtha’; D lam (“path”).
n.­525
The Skt anya is rendered “one thing” (gzhan, anya), “something else” (gzhan, anya), “unaltered (mi ’gyur pa, ananya) suchness,” and “does not change” (mi gyur pa, anyathā-).
n.­526
khri brgyad 8.­11.
n.­527
I understand our author to be interpreting the version of the Sūtra he is reading as having three sections, the first two of which comprise the first section. He understands the passage as saying that the aggregates and so on that are the basis for designating a bodhisattva cannot be said to be wholesome, and so on, by saying the words dream and so on. LSPW renders the three as: (1) “anything to correspond to the word ‘Bodhisattva,’ ” (2) “to what, then, could that word ‘Bodhisattva[’] refer?” and (3) “the reality corresponding to ‘Bodhisattva.’ ”
n.­528
’gres renders hāraka; MW, s.v. hāraka, “a kind of prose composition.”
n.­529
Golden 134b4 ming phung po; D ming dang phung po.
n.­530
khri brgyad 8.­11, ’bum 5.­189, nyi khri 5.­15 all have gang gis kyang, not gang yang.
n.­531
khri brgyad 8.­12.
n.­532
khri brgyad 8.­22.
n.­533
khri brgyad 8.­29.
n.­534
khri brgyad 8.­12. It is noteworthy that “will be near the knowledge of all aspects” is omitted here.
n.­535
’bum 5.­191, nyi khri 5.­18, and khri brgyad 8.­14. All differ slightly in unimportant details from the passage cited here.
n.­536
This, like the earlier passage (4.­111), is important for understanding the discussion of the other-emptiness (gzhan stong) doctrine in fourteenth century Tibet.
n.­537
K, N de bzhin nyid, D de nyid, “just that” (tad eva); also “true reality” (tattva).
n.­538
Here “true dharmic nature” means the true nature that is the ultimate attribute, emptiness, and the dharma that is the possessor of that attribute (=dharmin) as something that can be said of everything, including even emptiness itself.
n.­539
A “seed syllable” (yi ge’i ’bru, vyañjana) here means an acronym.
n.­540
khri brgyad 16.­99. “Unproduced from the very beginning” renders ādy-anutpannatvād.
n.­541
khri brgyad 8.­22.
n.­542
Golden 138a1; D chos nyid gnas, “the true nature of dharmas standing.”
n.­543
khri brgyad 8.­23.
n.­544
’bum 5.­230 (ka 378a3), nyi khri 5.­24 (ka 136a4) gzugs mi rtag pa nyid kyi stong pa nyid, “emptiness of the impermanence of form.”
n.­545
This exact wording is not found in khri brgyad 8.­23, nor in ’bum 5.­230 or nyi khri 5.­26.
n.­546
’bum 5.­230 and nyi khri 5.­26.
n.­547
khri brgyad 8.­28.
n.­548
“Enactment” renders abhisaṃskāra; Conze 1973a, s.v. anabhisaṃskāra, “put together, brought together.”
n.­549
nges par ’byung ba, niryāṇa. See n.­513 to “practices that cause going forth” at 4.­501.
n.­550
’jug means khri brgyad 8.­28 (ka 82a1) snyoms ’jug.
n.­551
khri brgyad 8.­31.
n.­552
khri brgyad 8.­31.
n.­553
khri brgyad 8.­33.
n.­554
khri brgyad 8.­33.
n.­555
Cp. khri brgyad 8.­36.
n.­556
Cf. khri brgyad 8.­39, which is similar. nyi khri 5.­58 “does not fully grasp even the very limit of reality.”
n.­557
khri brgyad 8.­36, Ghoṣa 615, Gilgit 284.2 parigrāhakaṃ nopalabdhā.
n.­558
le’u brgyad ma ga 145b4–5, reading slad du’o; cf. khri brgyad 8.­39.
n.­559
khri brgyad 8.­31.
n.­560
Golden 140a2 gis.
n.­561
Golden 140a2, K, N; D “the dharma in true dharmic nature.”
n.­562
The passage being explained is khri brgyad 8.­32–8.­32. The ultimate thoroughly established phenomenon is “known” by this meditative stabilization and in that sense is its dharma, which is to say it qualifies it as its attribute or quality.
n.­563
Golden 140b1, K, N: “The completion of what has been thoroughly cleansed by all the emptinesses when all dharmas are not apprehended is ‘the knowledge of all aspects.’ ”
n.­564
K, N; D: “because a causal sign is not an affliction.”
n.­565
A conceptual mind is defined by having a causal sign as its appearing object. Here, “these” is in reference to them both, like a dream consciousness and its object, as affliction.
n.­566
This translation is based on K, N … ma rtogs pa and D de la dad pa bskyed. Aṣṭa (Wogihara p. 51) adhimukta iti veditavyo nādhigata iti; Bṭ1 na, 113a4–5, says he had faith in the absence of causal signs but did not realize simultaneously that all dharmas are without causal signs, only each (form and so on) separately (kun du rgyu ba de sngon mtshan ma med par spyod pa la dad pas dad pa’i rjes su ’brang ba zhes bya/ chos thams cad cig car mtshan ma med par ni ma rtogs kyi/ gzugs la sogs pa re re nas mtshan ma med par rtogs pa’i phyir/ nyi tse ba’i ye shes kyis zhugs zhes bya’o).
n.­567
K, N: “because it was with a partial knowledge without causal signs.”
n.­568
khri brgyad 8.­36.
n.­569
khri brgyad 8.­36 (ka 84a1–3) lags pa in place of tshul gyis; cf. nyi khri 5.­54 (ka 142b3–5), which differs but has tshul gyis.
n.­570
D bzhin du yang is a mistake for gzhan du yang.
n.­571
Cf. khri brgyad 8.­37, nyi khri 5.­55. I have not emended the citation to correspond to the explanation given immediately below.
n.­572
The other editions are the same with minor variations. Cf. khri brgyad 8.­37: “any dharma with which he might know, or which he might know, or which he will come to know.”
n.­573
’bum 5.­442 (kha 34a6), nyi khri 5.­56, le’u brgyad ma ga 145b1, LSPW p. 135 “gone to a beyond which is no beyond.”
n.­574
K, N; D adds bar du zhes bya ba smos pa ni here, as well as at the end, suggesting a short passage has dropped out of the text at this point explaining “interim” as meaning until “prayers are completed, up to until the eighteen distinct attributes are completed.” This would then be followed by the nearly identical passage that follows, perhaps expanding on a different etymology for parāntarā.
n.­575
khri brgyad 8.­40–8.­54.
n.­576
In each case, at khri brgyad 8.­40, the “it” is “the perfection of wisdom.” “What is it for” renders ci zhig na, kena; LSPW “whereby.” “Why” can be an inquiry about both cause and result. Below our author glosses it with nges par ’byin pa (nairyāṇikā), “causes an escape”‍—either the escape itself (what it is for) or the practice that brings it about.
n.­577
khri brgyad 8.­40–8.­43.
n.­578
khri brgyad 8.­45.
n.­579
nyi khri 5.­76, khri brgyad 8.­48 has “form is separated from the defining mark of form.”
n.­580
khri brgyad 8.­51–8.­54.
n.­581
byed pa; Mvy 4 karaṇīya, 14 kāraka.
n.­582
D, Golden 143a1–2. khri brgyad 8.­40 (ka 85a4) de legs par mthong ba lags te, “they see it well”; nyi khri 5.­59 yang dag par mthong ba, “…perfectly.”
n.­583
khri brgyad 8.­43.
n.­584
khri brgyad, nyi khri omit “because of this one of many explanations.”
n.­585
khri brgyad 8.­50–8.­54.
n.­586
Emend shA ri bus to shA ri bu.
n.­587
Earlier (4.­501) our author calls this division “the practice of method.” Here (F.104.a) he calls this section brtson par sgrub pa, “practice as perseverance,” and (4.­620, F.105.a) brtson pa’i sgrub pa “practice of perseverance,” with the practice of method as a subset.
n.­588
khri brgyad 9.­1–9.­17.
n.­589
khri brgyad 9.­4.
n.­590
khri brgyad 9.­6–9.­10.
n.­591
“Possess” (gnas, adhisthā), “form a notion” (kun tu shes, saṃjñā), and “believe” (mos, adhimuc). In “mental error,” the “mind” (citta) is a basic awareness or bare thought; “perception” (’du shes, saṃjñā) is the discrimination or naming of the known; and “philosophical view” (dṛṣṭi) is a belief formed about what is known.
n.­592
Here “practice without apprehending” (mi dmigs par), as at nyi khri 6.­10 (ka 151b4–152a1), is rendering PSP 1-1: 182, Ghoṣa 824, Gilgit 291.7 nopaiti (na upa-i), literally “go near”; and LSPW “approaches.” khri brgyad 9.­15 (ka 90a3) renders it consistently by khas len (“assert”): “If, while practicing the perfection of wisdom they assert (khas len) any dharma, they are not practicing the perfection of wisdom.”
n.­593
khri brgyad 9.­12.
n.­594
4.­282–4.­285. They will be explained in more detail later (4.­541–4.­551).
n.­595
khri brgyad 9.­15 (ka 90a2–7) has khas len (“assert”) in place of dmigs.
n.­596
khri brgyad 9.­15; cp. nyi khri 6.­12.
n.­597
khri brgyad 9.­17.
n.­598
khri brgyad 9.­17; cf. PSP 1-1: 182, Ghoṣa 824, Gilgit 291.9.
n.­599
khri brgyad 9.­18–10.­68.
n.­600
khri brgyad 9.­18.
n.­601
khri brgyad 10.­1–10.­23.
n.­602
khri brgyad 10.­25–10.­68.
n.­603
Cf. nyi khri 6.­16, khri brgyad 9.­18. The sarva­dharmānutpāda is the first in the list of meditative stabilizations.
n.­604
Emend rtog to rtogs.
n.­605
khri brgyad 9.­25.
n.­606
’bum 6.­166, nyi khri 6.­22: “I am in meditative equipoise”; “I am entering into meditative equipoise”; “I will be in meditative equipoise”; and “the meditative equipoise will have happened” (mnyam par gzhag par gyur to).
n.­607
nyi khri 6.­26. The word saṃjñā (“notion,” “name,” and “discrimination,” “perception”) is rendered ’du shes here and in ’bum and nyi khri, and kun tu shes in khri brgyad 9.­29 (ka 93a7).
n.­608
nyi khri 6.­28; Gilgit 294.6 avidya­mānatvena.
n.­609
nyi khri 6.­30; cf. khri brgyad 9.­33.
n.­610
khri brgyad 9.­35.
n.­611
“All” means both self and dharmas.
n.­612
“Do not exist” (yod pa ma yin, na saṃvidyante).
n.­613
khri brgyad 9.­42; nyi khri 6.­36 de’i phyir med ces bya’o. Skt vid means both “know” and “exist.”
n.­614
bka’ stsal identifies what is said by the Lord.
n.­615
khri brgyad 9.­44.
n.­616
khri brgyad 9.­45.
n.­617
khri brgyad 9.­49.
n.­618
khri brgyad 9.­52.
n.­619
khri brgyad 9.­56–9.­59.
n.­620
khri brgyad 10.­1.
n.­621
khri brgyad 10.­2.
n.­622
khri brgyad 10.­9.
n.­623
khri brgyad 10.­12.
n.­624
khri brgyad 10.­13–10.­15.
n.­625
Cf. khri brgyad 10.­22, nyi khri 7.­17.
n.­626
khri brgyad 10.­24.
n.­627
Both khri brgyad ka 100b6 and nyi khri ka 162b3 omit the last part.
n.­628
khri brgyad 10.­26.
n.­629
4.­469.
n.­630
khri brgyad 10.­27.
n.­631
Cf. khri brgyad 10.­27–10.­30, nyi khri 7.­23-7.­24. Our author perhaps intends that even the analytic understanding, each explanation of which is preceded and followed by these two extracts, is included in the completion of the six perfections, which are explicitly explained from this point on.
n.­632
khri brgyad 10.­40.
n.­633
khri brgyad 10.­43–10.­48.
n.­634
khri brgyad 10.­49 (10.­50 “apprehend a perfection of wisdom while cultivating it, and falsely project it as the perfection of wisdom”), up to khri brgyad 10.­58.
n.­635
Our author is either following a different version of the Sūtra or this is a corrupt reading. khri brgyad 10.­58, “Lord, why does a bodhisattva great being fall into the clutches of a bad friend,” makes better sense.
n.­636
khri brgyad 10.­68.
n.­637
This is the last of the eight sections given earlier (2.­5), glossed (2.­14) as “the specific instruction for coming to an authoritative conclusion about this brief exposition in terms of the basis in reality and the characteristic marks.”
n.­638
2.­1, citing khri brgyad 2.­1.
n.­639
padārtha (“meaning of the words”) is explained more fully earlier in the notes n.­246 and n.­242 to 2.­14.
n.­640
khri brgyad 11.­1–20.­106. The wording of some of the questions does not exactly follow the later wording found in the Sūtra. Furthermore, the first two, and possibly even the first three, are grouped together as one question in the later explanation. The statements that are not obvious questions are to be understood as rhetorical questions, repeating the words of the Lord with an implicit “You mean to say, then, that…?”
n.­641
4.­1169; khri brgyad 19.­1.
n.­642
This and all the remaining questions and responses are at khri brgyad 20.­1–20.­106. First are the statements made by Subhūti (20.­8–20.­10) that are then queried by Śāriputra (20.­11), and then answered by Subhūti up to the end of the chapter (20.­106).
n.­643
Here it says there are twenty-eight questions, and later (6.­57) it references the last in the list as the twenty-eighth question. Later (4.­1247) it will say there is a list of twenty-nine questions. Below, the third question is introduced as the second, so the first two in the list are explained as just one question: “Why do you say bodhisattva great being?” Furthermore, because the response of Pūrṇa to why a bodhisattva is a great being incorporates the third in the list, our author incorporates it, in the body of his explanation, into a first, expanded question.
n.­644
khri brgyad 21.­1–21.­97.
n.­645
khri brgyad 11.­2 and nyi khri 8.­2 both differ slightly.
n.­646
A bodhi-sattva is an “awakening-being.”
n.­647
khri brgyad 11.­2.
n.­648
“Heroic being” is a literal rendering of the Tib sems dpa’, a translation that in turn renders the second half of the older word bodhisatva before its Sanskritization to bodhisattva. It is elsewhere rendered into English consistently as “[bodhi]sattva.”
n.­649
phung po lnga’i gzhi med do. Probably the author intends to say there is no bodhisattva over and above the aggregates, and in that sense they are not the basis.
n.­650
K, N. D byang chub sems dpa’.
n.­651
khri brgyad 11.­16.
n.­652
K, N. D: “Just as a basis for nirvāṇa and saṃsāra does not exist, similarly…”
n.­653
In the earlier list padārtha was rendered gzhi’i don, “a basis in reality for.”
n.­654
khri brgyad 11.­17 gzhi med; nyi khri 8.­19 gnas med.
n.­655
khri brgyad 11.­20 (ka 112b2) has rnam par byang ba med pa’i gzhi in place of med pa la gzhi.
n.­656
“Ultimate” renders don dam pa; in the list given earlier it’s don med pa (“unreal”).
n.­657
nyi khri 8.­26 (ka 183b7–184a1) gnas in place of gzhi; khri brgyad 11.­25 (ka 113a3) omits mtshan ma’i; the other examples are up to khri brgyad 11.­29.
n.­658
nyi khri 8.­29 (ka 184b5) gnas for gzhi; khri brgyad 11.­30 (ka 113b2) incorrectly adds mun pa’i, “a basis for darkness.”
n.­659
khri brgyad 11.­31–11.­32.
n.­660
khri brgyad 11.­33.
n.­661
D dpyod pa med pa (Golden 158b1 spyod pa med pa is wrong) is based on the root rūp, “to investigate”; khri brgyad 11.­33 (ka 113b6), nyi khri 8.­29 (ka 185a3) “formless” (gzugs med pa).
n.­662
nyi khri 8.­29 (185a4), le’u brgyad ma ga 181a5; khri brgyad 11.­33 (ka 113b7), ’bum 8.­74 (ga 60a7) omit chags pa; cf. Gilgit 310.10 asattāyām, Ghoṣa 1257 asaṅgatatāyām, PSP 1-2: 24 asaktatāyām asadbhūtatāyāṃ.
n.­663
khri brgyad 11.­50, likely a later “improvement” of an earlier reading like Ghoṣa 1263 akalpanāvikalpanātām upādāya. ’bum 8.­91 (ga 64b4) rtog pa myed cing / rnam par rtog pa myed pa; similarly, le’u brgyad ma ga 184a7.
n.­664
khri brgyad 11.­51.
n.­665
khri brgyad 11.­52–11.­72.
n.­666
khri brgyad 12.­3–12.­5.
n.­667
khri brgyad 12.­7–12.­19.
n.­668
If the text is emended to byang chub sems pa sems pa chen po zhes it would mean “this ‘bodhisattva great being’ is called a ‘great being.’ ”
n.­669
khri brgyad 13.­2–13.­35.
n.­670
khri brgyad 11.­54.
n.­671
“Many” (mang po) is a reading not attested either in khri brgyad ka 117a1 phal po che, or in nyi khri 8.­46 (ka 188b3) nges pa’i phul byed pa. Mvy 5075 gives phal po che as a translation of nicaya; Gilgit 313.8 niyatasya.
n.­672
Cf. nyi khri 8.­48, khri brgyad 11.­56.
n.­673
khri brgyad 11.­58.
n.­674
khri brgyad 11.­59.
n.­675
khri brgyad 11.­60.
n.­676
khri brgyad 11.­63–11.­72.
n.­677
khri brgyad 11.­63 “unbroken unity” is the LSPW rendering of asaṃbheda (dbyer med pa).
n.­678
khri brgyad 12.­3.
n.­679
Golden 161a4, khri brgyad 12.­5, nyi khri 8.­62.
n.­680
nyi khri 8.­73; cf. Ghoṣa 1292 acittatvāt tatrāpi citte ’sakta iti; referenced at khri brgyad 12.­16.
n.­681
khri brgyad 12.­9.
n.­682
khri brgyad 12.­9.
n.­683
“Venerable Subhūti, you said, ‘Even to that thought of all-knowing that is without outflows and does not belong they are unattached.’ ”
n.­684
nyi khri 8.­69; khri brgyad 12.­12 (ka 120b5) renders paryāpanna (“belong to”) khongs su gtogs pa.
n.­685
nyi khri 8.­73.
n.­686
khri brgyad 13.­2.
n.­687
khri brgyad 13.­4.
n.­688
nyi khri 8.­79 (ka 195a3), ’bum 8.­173 (ga 93a1) have de tsam gyis na, “to that extent,” in place of de phyir, “therefore”; khri brgyad 13.­5 (ka 122b4) omits this final statement.
n.­689
nyi khri 8.­80, ’bum 8.­174, Ghoṣa 1302; cf. khri brgyad 13.­6 ff.
n.­690
nyi khri 8.­120, khri brgyad 13.­35.
n.­691
Cf. le’u brgyad ma ga 190a5 yongs su bcad pas; khri brgyad 13.­5 (ka 122b2), nyi khri 8.­79 (ka 194b4) yongs su dpag pas.
n.­692
khri brgyad 13.­6.
n.­693
rang bzhin gyis (prākṛta) means when the perfection of giving is the focus in each of the six explanations.
n.­694
Cf. khri brgyad 13.­7.
n.­695
Cf. khri brgyad 13.­11.
n.­696
Cf. khri brgyad 11.­56, nyi khri 8.­86; ’bum 8.­169, Ghoṣa 1310 ayam… ṣaṭpāramitā­mahā­sannāhaḥ.
n.­697
Cf. nyi khri 8.­87.
n.­698
This is an brief summary of khri brgyad 13.­13–13.­34.
n.­699
Cf. 4.­678.
n.­700
khri brgyad 13.­36. Śāriputra asks the question.
n.­701
khri brgyad 13.­64.
n.­702
This is the first of the ten.
n.­703
The twelve are the three sets of concentrations, immeasurables, and absorptions.
n.­704
khri brgyad 13.­42. Below (4.­1300) our author says, “Names, designations, conventional terms and so on are ‘reasons’ [or ‘tokens’]; defining marks and behaviors are ‘signs.’ ” Both of these explain “attributes” (ākāra, rnam pa), the aspects of a particular thing that make up its identity. They pay attention to the attributes and so on of space because, like space, all the different meditative states are ultimately the same, without any intrinsic nature.
n.­705
khri brgyad 13.­42, nyi khri 8.­123.
n.­706
The difference between the first and the second is that in the first the twelve‍—the concentrations and so on‍—are the focus, and in the second the six perfections are. In both cases the giving, morality, and so on are in the form of an altruistically motivated meditation practice that accomplishes the different meditative states.
n.­707
khri brgyad 13.­50; cf. nyi khri 8.­131 (ka 203a4) that omits drug gi.
n.­708
khri brgyad 13.­51.
n.­709
khri brgyad 13.­52–13.­58.
n.­710
khri brgyad 13.­59, nyi khri 8.­139 shes, (“knowledge of”) the emptinesses.
n.­711
khri brgyad 13.­60.
n.­712
khri brgyad 13.­61. “Not without knowledge” explains “by way of not apprehending anything.”
n.­713
khri brgyad 13.­62.
n.­714
khri brgyad 13.­63.
n.­715
khri brgyad 13.­64.
n.­716
“Stand in” renders gnas. ’bum 8.­250 (ga 112b1), nyi khri 8.­145 (ka 205a3) gnas; khri brgyad 13.­65 (ka 130a2), ’bum 8.­251 (ga 112b3), nyi khri 8.­145 (ka 205a5) yang dag par gnas; PSP 1-2: 44, Ghoṣa 1329 samārūḍha; le’u brgyad ma ga 200a1 zhugs, ga 200a2 ’dzeg pa; Abhi­samayālaṃkāra 1.45d (Amano, p. 25) adhirohinī; mngon rtog rgyan, Degé Tengyur (shes phyin, ka), 4a6 ’dzegs.
n.­717
yang dag par gnas; PSP 1-2: 44 ārohati, Gilgit 321.1 samārohati, “mount up on.”
n.­718
khri brgyad 13.­66 (ka 130a3) yang dag par gnas: “bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom mount up on.”
n.­719
“They” means the nonconceptual perfections at the eighth bodhisattva level.
n.­720
khri brgyad 13.­67. Alternatively, “because of a disintegration of meditation” or “in order to cause a disintegration.” Ghoṣa 1331, PSP 1-2: 44 bhāvanāvibhāvanārthena; le’u brgyad ma ga 200b1 bsgom pa rnam par gzhig pa’i don du; ’bum 8.­253 (ga 113b1), nyi khri 8.­147 (ka 205b1) bsgom pa rnam par bsgom pa’i don du, “in order to develop a meditation”; LSPW p. 184 “a development in the sense of annihilation.” It is noteworthy that the translators of khri brgyad consistently render vibhāvanā by bsgom par rnam par ’jig pa, “a disintegration of meditation,” and at khri brgyad 51.­78 (kha 206b) by bshig pa, the past tense of ’jig pa; cf. Bṭ3 5.­1229 explaining khri brgyad 69.­42 ff. In general, bhāvanā is “meditation”; vibhava / vibhāva is a bahuvrihi (vigato bhāvo yasya), “devoid of existence”; vibhāvanā (rnam par ’jig pa), “disintegration of meditation”; and bhāva “existent thing,” all from root bhū, cognate with the English “be.”
n.­721
khri brgyad 13.­68–13.­70.
n.­722
khri brgyad 14.­1.
n.­723
Golden 167a2, cf. khri brgyad 14.­34 and 14.­40; D gnyis pa, “second.” Even though it is clear that the section of the text our author is explaining is khri brgyad 14.­1–14.­53, it is not clear whether the eleven sections are the nine and the two sections introduced by Subhūti’s two statements with “The way I understand,” or whether the section beginning 14.­34 should be understood as itself divided into eleven sections.
n.­724
khri brgyad 14.­2–14.­8.
n.­725
khri brgyad 14.­9–14.­26.
n.­726
khri brgyad 14.­27–14.­30.
n.­727
khri brgyad 14.­31–14.­33.
n.­728
khri brgyad 14.­34.
n.­729
khri brgyad 14.­34.
n.­730
khri brgyad 14.­35.
n.­731
khri brgyad 14.­37 and 14.­38; khri brgyad ka 139b3 gtan med in place of shin tu med.
n.­732
khri brgyad 14.­38.
n.­733
khri brgyad 14.­40.
n.­734
khri brgyad 14.­46 (ka 140b7) gzugs nyid med pa’i phyir; nyi khri 8.­202 (ka 217b1), le’u brgyad ma ga 214a2 gzugs med pa’i phyir. It is perhaps odd to write gzugs med nyid kyi phyir in Tib. The asattva here, like the sattva in sarve sattvāḥ and bodhisattva, means more than just a state of nonexistence; LSPW “nonbeingness.”
n.­735
khri brgyad 14.­44.
n.­736
This is the sixth of the twenty-eight or twenty-nine questions listed earlier (4.­678). The numbering here jumps to six, leaving out four and five, because the first three questions go together as 1a, 1b, and 1c, followed by 2 and then 3.
n.­737
This is in Pūrṇa’s explanation of a great being, khri brgyad 13.­2 ff.
n.­738
Subhūti’s five questions at khri brgyad 15.­1, are: “Lord, what is the Great Vehicle of bodhisattva great beings? Lord, to just what extent should bodhisattva great beings be known to have set out in the Great Vehicle? Where will the Great Vehicle have set out? Where will the Great Vehicle stand? Who will go forth in the Great Vehicle?” Below (Bṭ3 4.­1168–4.­1169) our author will say that the responses to them first explain the Great Vehicle in the context of setting out, and then, arising out of the response to the last question (khri brgyad 18.­36, “Who will go forth in the Great Vehicle?”) there is an explanation of the Great Vehicle in the context of the result, beginning with the statement (khri brgyad 19.­1), “Lord, you say this‍—‘Great Vehicle’‍—again and again. It surpasses the world with its gods, humans, and asuras and goes forth; that is why it is called a Great Vehicle.”
n.­739
“Effort” (pradhāna) should also be understood as incorporating the Tib spong ba (prahāṇa), “abandonment.”
n.­740
In the list in the khri brgyad, insofar as the next in the list of the twenty-one Great Vehicles is “the Great Vehicle of the ten powers,” the five absorptions are a general term including (1) the four immeasurables, (2) the four concentrations, (3) the four formless absorptions, (4) the eight deliverances, and (5) the nine successive absorption stations.
n.­741
Our author begins with an explanation of the second Great Vehicle because he has already explained the six perfections in response to the earlier question.
n.­742
The section begins from khri brgyad 15.­10 and goes up to 15.­34. The extract is from 15.­11.
n.­743
D dngos po, vastu (“real basis”); K, N mig gis dngos por med do, “they do not exist in actual fact (vastutaḥ) as eyes.” Alternatively, taking dngos po as rendering bhāva (“existent thing,” “real thing”) and dngos po med pa as rendering abhāva (“nonexistent thing,” “unreal thing”): “it means the nonexistence in eyes of eyes as a real thing.”
n.­744
Alternatively, “that nonexistence in eyes of eyes as a real thing (dngos po med pa nyid, abhāvatā) is their basic nature (prakṛti), their intrinsic nature (svabhāva).”
n.­745
khri brgyad 15.­17, explaining “the emptiness of ultimate reality.”
n.­746
K, N “ultimate nirvāṇa is empty of falsely imagined nirvāṇa.”
n.­747
K, N rtog pa dang bcas pa; D “The system (tshul, naya) of some in the Śrāvaka Vehicle who have realization (rtogs pa dang bcas pa) is not like that.” It does not make sense to understand rtog pa dang bcas pa as savitarka in the technical sense specific to the first concentration, as “The mode of some in the Śrāvaka Vehicle with applied thought is like that.”
n.­748
This is explaining the emptiness of the uncompounded.
n.­749
At khri brgyad 15.­20 (ka 144b7) “extreme” (mtha’, anta) is rendered “limit.”
n.­750
khri brgyad 15.­21.
n.­751
K, Golden 170b6 ma yin gyi; D yin gyi, “is posited.”
n.­752
Here “that which possesses an attribute” and “possessor of an attribute” render dharmin and “attribute” renders dharma. Every attribute can be a possessor of an attribute, and vice versa. Thus anything‍—for instance, a basic nature‍—can be qualified by an attribute. At such a time it is that which possesses an attribute. Or a basic nature can be the attribute of anything‍—for instance, a person. But when you say “basic nature” you have willy-nilly expressed something that as an attribute will be the ultimate reality of that thing, and in that sense cannot be said to be an attribute of it.
n.­753
khri brgyad 15.­24.
n.­754
Golden 171a5 gi; D gis.
n.­755
khri brgyad 15.­26: “Any past, future, or present dharma cannot be apprehended.”
n.­756
The same compound abhāva­svabhāva­śūnyatā (with the same Tib translation) is rendered “the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature” at khri brgyad 15.­29. Our author’s interpretation requires this different translation.
n.­757
khri brgyad 15.­29.
n.­758
This explanation takes the initial negation prefix a- in the Skt. compound word abhāvasvabhāva as going with both bhāva (“existent thing”) and svabhāva (“intrinsic nature”) separately, giving bhāva (“existent thing”) and its negation abhāva (“nonexistent thing, nonexistence”), and svabhāva (“intrinsic nature”) and its negation parabhāva (“nature from something else”). It understands the compound to be teaching the emptiness of these four things.
n.­759
Alternatively, “ ‘Existent thing,’ bhāva, is a form derived (de las byung ba, tatpratyaya) [from the root bhū, cognate with English “be”].”
n.­760
śūra.
n.­761
khri brgyad 16.­1.
n.­762
“Application” (stressing the action rather than the object acted upon) and “foundation” (stressing the object of mindfulness) both render upasthāna. It is hard to see how “the foundation” (upasthāna) of mindfulness, in the sense of its object‍—the body, for example‍—could be the Great Vehicle.
n.­763
The la in bzhi la is a connective; it does not mark the object of mindfulness.
n.­764
The explanation of the Great Vehicle is khri brgyad 16.­2–16.­3; the six parts in accord with the śrāvaka system are khri brgyad 16.­4–16.­19. The six are given below at Bṭ3 4.­839.
n.­765
gzugs (rūpa) in this section is equivalent to the “form” in gzugs kyi phung po (rūpaskandha), that is, it is akin to “material.” It does not mean just the body as a shape (gzugs, rūpa).
n.­766
“Threefold” means as inner, outer, and both.
n.­767
“Element” (’byung ba, bhūta); cf. Mppś English, vol. 3, p. 965: “the five objects (viṣaya), color (rūpa), etc., are the outer body,” and “the four great elements (bhautikarūpa), etc., are the outer body.”
n.­768
This glosses the anu (“after, again”) in anupaśyin with anutarka.
n.­769
K, N: “He ‘is a viewer’ investigating and reflecting on an inner body as ‘the body.’ ”
n.­770
The five “obstructions” (sgrib pa, nīvaraṇa) are greed that causes you to act on the desire for sense gratification (kāmacchanda), malice (vyāpāda), drowsiness and dozing (sthyānamiddha), gross mental excitement and uneasiness (auddhatyakaukṛtya), and vicikitsā; cf. Abhidharmakośa 5.58d–59.
n.­771
’bum 9.­3.
n.­772
gardhanaiṣkramyāśrita­bhedena; cf. Abhi­dharma­kośa­bhāṣya on Abhidharmakośa 3.35 (Śastri, 489).
n.­773
khri brgyad 3.­129, gives the full list.
n.­774
This is explaining the mindfulness of dharmas; cf. khri brgyad 16.­3: “They dwell while viewing in dharmas outer feelings, mind, and outer dharmas, and dwell while viewing in dharmas inner and outer feelings, mind, and inner and outer dharmas by way of not apprehending anything, and without indulging in speculations to do with the body.”
n.­775
khri brgyad 16.­4.
n.­776
The “second” is the teaching from the viewpoint of being clearly conscious, khri brgyad 16.­5.
n.­777
’chos pa ’bum, ga 179a5; Jäschke, s.v. ’chos 2: “a secondary form of ’cha.”
n.­778
MW, s.v. prahara, an eighth of a day (about three hours).
n.­779
I have emended gsum to gsum pa, “third.” Alternatively, D, Golden 177a6 gsum (“three”) would be this viewpoint together with the fourth (constituents) and fifth (thirty-two unclean aspects) viewpoints our author touches on in passing below.
n.­780
khri brgyad 16.­6.
n.­781
khri brgyad 16.­8.
n.­782
khri brgyad 16.­9–16.­19.
n.­783
khri brgyad 16.­9–16.­19: “This body too is of such a quality…”
n.­784
Golden 178a1; khri brgyad 16.­10: “does not avoid having that as its natural state.”
n.­785
This section explains the nine unpleasantnesses, listed below, in connection with the nine perceptions of the stages in the decomposition of the body. They have been listed earlier in the Sūtra as the bloated corpse perception, and the cleaned-out-by-worms, putrid, bloodied, black-and-blue, savaged, torn-asunder, bare-bones, and burnt-bones perceptions (at khri brgyad 2.­4); or the perception of a bloated corpse, of it chopped in half, of it as putrid, the bloodied perception, and the black-and-blue, savaged, torn-asunder, bones, and burnt-bones perceptions (at khri brgyad 11.­36).
n.­786
khri brgyad 16.­13.
n.­787
When there is no longer any blood, flesh, or sinew left.
n.­788
khri brgyad 16.­17–16.­19.
n.­789
Alternatively, “There is an explanation of mindfulness to the body in thirteen parts: five viewing a body that has consciousness, and eight unpleasantnesses where there is no consciousness.” If translated like that I am unclear how our author arrives at a total of fifteen sections.
n.­790
This is the second of the sets of dharmas included in the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening. spong ba (prahāṇa) should also be understood as “effort” (pradhāna).
n.­791
Tib spong ba renders prahāṇa.
n.­792
Tib ’jog pa (“put to work”), literally “place,” renders pradhāna, more usually rtsol ba “exertion, effort.” Alternatively, “because it places the goal before the mind” (praṇidhatte); cp. samādhi, a stability of mind.
n.­793
They generate “the desire not to produce wrong unwholesome dharmas not yet produced,” “the desire to abandon wrong unwholesome dharmas already produced,” “to desire to produce wholesome dharmas not yet produced,” and “the desire that wholesome dharmas already produced will remain, will increase, will not be forgotten, will not degenerate, and will be completed.”
n.­794
Ratnākaraśānti’s Śuddhamatī (dag ldan, Degé Tengyur [shes phyin, ta], 110a4–5) and Abhayākaragupta’s Marmakaumudī (gnad kyi zla ’od, Degé Tengyur [shes phyin, da], 57b3–4) have the same names for all four.
n.­795
Golden 178b6 tshegs.
n.­796
This is the third of the sets of dharmas included in the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening.
n.­797
Here spong ba’i ’du byed (prahāṇa­saṃskāra), literally “abandonment effort,” means “volitional effort,” specifically the eight factors involved in the effort to eliminate the five faults that prevent calm abiding. Madhyānta­vibhāga 4.3–5 (see also the commentary on Mahā­yāna­sūtrālaṃkāra 18.53) says the five faults are laziness, forgetting the instructions, dullness and excitement, not trying, and trying; yearning, resolve (vyāyāma), faith, pliability, mindfulness, introspection, intention, and equanimity are the eight dharmas that counteract those five.
n.­798
khri brgyad 16.­22. This is the fourth of the sets of dharmas included in the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening.
n.­799
The “preparation for reality” is the aid to knowledge that penetrates true reality, the “certainty.” The conditions governing it are the mental stability and insight taught as the four limbs of miraculous power.
n.­800
The five are the faith, perseverance, mindfulness, meditative stabilization, and wisdom powers.
n.­801
khri brgyad 16.­26–16.­30.
n.­802
It is difficult to conclusively determine the meaning of these explanations of the three gateways. Brunnhölzl (2011, p. 38) discusses them and Hong (2018, pp. 586–89) is a critique of Brunnhölzl.
n.­803
Cf. nyi khri 9.­26, khri brgyad 16.­27.
n.­804
Cf. khri brgyad 16.­29; nyi khri 9.­26: “ ‘all dharmas cannot be occasioned/created by karma’ so the stability of mind when not occasioning anything/creating karma is the wishlessness…” Cp. Brunnhölzl 2011, p. 38.
n.­805
Cf. khri brgyad 16.­32, nyi khri 9.­27.
n.­806
Emend D, Golden 183a3 byas pa srung ba can gyi sa to Mvy byas pa (b)srang ba’i sa, or (4.­1139) byas pa rtogs pa can gyi sa where in explaining the list at khri brgyad 17.­128 it says it is the level of the worthy one “who has done the work to be done.”
n.­807
Our author is saying the “knowledge of extinction” is the unobstructed path of seeing and this “knowledge of nonproduction” is the path of freedom.
n.­808
The dharma is the ultimate attribute, the nonproduction or emptiness that qualifies the subject.
n.­809
This is a gloss of “subsequent” realization (rjes su rtogs pa, anvaya) with “inference” (rjes su dpag pa, anumā).
n.­810
This translation is a conjecture. kha cig kho nar perhaps renders apare eva, that is, the speaker in contrast to pare (pha rol), “somebody else.” “Conventional” renders saṃvṛti/saṃvṛta, which means “totally covering” or “totally covered.”
n.­811
This is playing with the words paricaya (“familiarity”) and parijaya (“totally vanquishing”), and bhāvanā (“meditation”) and abhibhāva (“domination”).
n.­812
“The earlier one” may be the earlier knowledge of extinction, or it may be the paricaya (“familiarity”) just explained earlier than the parijaya (“totally vanquishing”), or it may be in reference to the earlier (4.­31) explanation of mastery when a bodhisattva knows but does not experience the result of stream enterer and so on.
n.­813
Both are the paths of seeing and meditation.
n.­814
khri brgyad 16.­51 ff.
n.­815
khri brgyad 16.­52–16.­53.
n.­816
Alternatively, “apprehends the eight worldly dharmas as being the same.” The idea is that the person is in a detached state where the laws no longer operate.
n.­817
khri brgyad 16.­54.
n.­818
kāma (“sense object”) means both the desire for the pleasure from the objects of the senses‍—color, smell and so on‍—and the objects of the senses themselves, the “bases.”
n.­819
The “desired aim” is śamatha (“calm abiding”). Here gnas ngan len (dauṣṭhūlya) does not mean the final basis of suffering, the last traces or residual impressions obstructing the attainment of the final goal of nirvāṇa or full awakening, but rather the defective states (gnas ngan len) removed by the absence of effort leading to a fully qualified śamatha. Cf. Vasubandhu’s Āryākṣaya­mati­nirdeśaṭīkā (’phags pa blo gros mi zad pas bstan pa rgya cher ’grel pa [mdo ’grel, ci], 150a).
n.­820
nye bar ’jog pa. This is also the term used for the fourth of the nine stages leading to śamatha.
n.­821
LC, s.v. mang tu gnas, questions the meaning of bahuvihāra. I have conjectured it means “stay at their post,” having in mind that a practitioner, balancing śamatha and vipaśyana, utilizes an insightful introspection to make sure the earlier attractions to the qualities of the lower concentrations do not arise.
n.­822
The four are pleasure, suffering, mental happiness, and mental unhappiness.
n.­823
khri brgyad 16.­59.
n.­824
4.­936–4.­941.
n.­825
khri brgyad 16.­71–16.­80.
n.­826
Our author’s presentation is a paraphrase of, and often a direct citation from, The Teaching on the Great Compassion of the Tathāgata (Toh 147, Tathāgata­mahā­karuṇā­nirdeśa­sūtra) 2.­258 ff. (Burchardi 2020), cited in the AAV (Sparham 2006–11, vol. 4, p. 80) by the name of the questioner, Dhāraṇīśvararāja. The same explanation is also in The Bodhisattva’s Scriptural Collection of the Heap of Jewels collection (byang chub sems dpa’i sde snod, Degé Kangyur [dkon brtsegs, ga], 11a ff.). Mppś English (vol. 3, p. 1239 ff.) lists earlier sources for the powers, including the Majjhimanikāya.
n.­827
skyon med pa, literally “flawlessness”; TMN 2.­258 (185a4) nges par gyur ba.
n.­828
Alternatively, “a wife who is competitive,” “nagging”? TMN omits.
n.­829
D; so too Golden 170b3. Possibly “not going to a good form of life is impossible” has accidentally been left out.
n.­830
rjes su mthun pa’i bzod pa, Mvy ānulomikī kṣānti.
n.­831
TMN 2.­259 says it is impossible that a girl, in that very body, can become an Indra and so on, but having transformed, it is possible. This may be no stronger than saying a man, in that very body, cannot become a mother, but having changed bodies can.
n.­832
The “eighth person” (aṣṭamaka) is the candidate for the result of stream enterer, the lowest of the eight goals: candidate for, and recipient of, the results of stream enterer, once-returner, non-returner, and worthy one.
n.­833
TMN 2.­264 (187a4) ’khrul pa dmigs pa, “mistake in what they apprehend.”
n.­834
TMN 2.­275 and khri brgyad 16.­83 differ slightly; similar to Ghoṣa 1446, PSP 1-2: 83, and khri brgyad 73.­67. Mppś English (pp. 1248–58) gives a detailed explanation.
n.­835
BPS 15a1 ma ’ongs pa’i dus na dge ba’i rgyu ’byin pa de, perhaps suggesting that right and wrong beget the habits of right and wrongdoing; TMN 2.­275 (187b5) gang ma ’ongs pa’i dus na dge ba’i rgyu las byung ba ’byin pa de, “issue arising from an unwholesome cause.”
n.­836
“A superior” (khyad par) and “an inferior” (dman pa) might be the status you have in the life in which the action is undertaken, or it might be an important person you are associated with in your life who can help or hurt you, or it might be something of great value that might make you rich or put you in jail; cf. Mppś English (p. 1250): “Sometimes the action that must necessarily be experienced depends (apekṣate) on the time (kāla), a person (pudgala), and the place (sthāna) in order to undergo its retribution. Thus, a person who is to enjoy happiness in the company of a noble cakravartin king awaits the moment when the noble cakravartin king appears in the world, and that is the moment when he attains his reward: therefore, he depends on the time. He depends also on an individual, on the occurrence of the noble cakravartin king, and finally, he depends on the place, i.e., the place where the noble cakravartin king is born.” BPS 15a1–5.
n.­837
In a position of power you hurt somebody, and in a later life are thrown in jail by the ruler.
n.­838
Cf. TMN 2.­276; BPS 15a7.
n.­839
TMN takes dhātu and adhimukti together in a single section and deals with adhimukti first. Mppś English (p. 1264) takes adhimukti (“aspiration”) as the fifth power and dhātu (“acquired disposition”) as the sixth.
n.­840
This may simply mean “the world with its various places and multiplicity of regions.” A dhātu (“constituent,” “element”) is a physical constituent of the world (the earth element and so on), one of the eighteen categories (the eye, color, eye-consciousness constituent, and so on), the basic character of a person, a region of the universe, or a relic of a buddha; cf. Edg, s.v. dhātu, who cites a verse from The Stem Array (Ganda­vyūha­sūtra) 484.15–16: sattvadhātu paripācayiṣase, lokaghātu pariśodhayiṣasi, jñānadhātum uttāpayiṣyase, āśayasya tava dhātu tādṛśaḥ. (See English translation of this verse in Roberts 2021a, The Stem Array 54.­132).
n.­841
The “disposition constituent” (lhag pa’i bsam pa’i khams, adhyāśayadhātu) is distinct from an “inherited disposition” (gnas, āśaya), dealt with below. This one is deposited and then drawn on. The richer the deposit (the stronger the disposition) the more it gives rise to its concordant result. Lamotte’s translation of Kumārajīva is helpful (Mppś English, pp. 1268–70): “By acquired disposition (dhātu) is meant an accumulated habitual pattern (ācitavāsanā). The characteristics (lakṣaṇa) arise from the dhātu. The aspiration (adhimukti) functions in accord with the dhātu. Sometimes the dhātu results from the adhimukti. Habitual patterns (vāsanā) and aspirations (adhimukti) realize the dhātu. Dhātu is the lofty resolution (adhyāśaya), adhimukti arises as a result of the conditions (pratītya­samutpanna). These are the differences between adhimukti and dhātu. … The Buddha knows that beings have such and such acquired dispositions (dhātu), such and such aspirations (adhimukti), and that they come from such and such a place (sthāna).”
n.­842
TMN 2.­291 (189b7) gang gis ’jig rten bsod nams kyi ’du byed sogs pa’i khams, “[the action] on account of which there is a deposit of the collection of volitional factors for making ordinary merit.”
n.­843
An “immovable” is an action (a strong meditation habit) that will bring its maturation result (a life in a higher realm) before any other action is allowed to mature.
n.­844
Abhayākaragupta’s Muni­matālaṃkāra (thub pa’i dgongs pai rgyan Degé Tengyur [dbu ma, a], 277a6–7) khams sna tshogs pa ni bsod nams dang bsod nams ma yin pa dang mi g.yo ba la sogs pa bskyed pa’i bsam gtan no/ /mos pa sna tshogs pa la ’dir mos pa ni ’dod pa ste/ ’di ltar ’dod chags la gnas pa’i yang zhe sdang la ’dod pa dang/ zhe sdang la gnas pa’i ’dod chags la ’dod pa dang/ sbyor ba dman pa’i sbyor ba rgya chen po la dang/ sbyor ba rgya chen po’i sbyor ba dman pa la’o. The sense is, for instance, someone who is lazy by nature but quick to get angry, someone who is lecherous by nature but quick to form silly prejudices, someone who is arrogant by nature but quick to question him or herself. The place (gnas) is caused by karma, but in this life, in this place, the tendency of the person is toward a personality that easily gets angry, or a person whose basic nature is greedy and is easily swayed to anger.
n.­845
TMN 2.­309 (192b4) sems can thams cad kyi dbang po yongs su smin pa rnams… dbang po yongs su ma smin pa rnams, “faculties that have reached maturity and faculties that have not reached maturity.”
n.­846
This is a subdivision of the stream enterer.
n.­847
This is a subdivision of once-returner.
n.­848
TMN 2.­306 (192a2) sems can gang sbyin pa’i dbang po cen yin la de’ang tshul khrims la sbyor ba de la de bzhin gshegs pas dbang po mchog and mchog ma yin pa mkhyen pas sbyin pa’i gtam ston to. The sense is with this power a buddha knows, to use a modern example, a child with only the capacity to study fractions, as it were, who is studying algebra that is beyond his or her capacity. The teacher stops teaching algebra, and so on.
n.­849
Cf. TMN 2.­306.
n.­850
Ghoṣa 1446, PSP 1-2: 83 indriya­parāpara.
n.­851
I am unsure of the meaning. “Something indicating” renders mtshan ma; alternatively, “sex organs.”
n.­852
This summarizes TMN 2.­334.
n.­853
Golden 199a2.
n.­854
khri brgyad 15.­35–15.­144, 62.­52–62.­56.
n.­855
TMN 2.­377 ff.
n.­856
Here the gzhung (“scripture”) is probably the Dhāraṇīśvara­rāja, or The Teaching on the Great Compassion of the Tathāgata (Tathāgata­mahā­karuṇā­nirdeśa­sūtra).
n.­857
Alternatively, “their body hair does not bristle.” spu zing zhes byed (romaharṣa) can also mean the bristling of hairs because of great anxiety.
n.­858
Here a dharma means a teaching of a doctrine.
n.­859
khri brgyad 16.­95 has them in reverse order.
n.­860
Here dharma means the necessary qualifying attributes of a particular “meaning” in the sense of the basis (artha) that makes it what it is.
n.­861
Here dharma has the sense of a governing law; the “meaning” (artha) is its result in the sense of what it aims at.
n.­862
Alternatively, if taken as qualifying statements, drang dgos pa means “that require interpretation” and tshig lhur len pa means “where the words are the main thing.” Here “meanings” (artha) is in the sense of welfare, or those for whose sake something is being done.
n.­863
K, N skad gang yin pa; D sngags ’chang.
n.­864
MW, s.v. dvīpa, “island,” (citing Krishna Kanta Handiqui, Naishadhacarita of Srīharsha i.5, p. 1) says there are eighteen dvīpas that “include the upadvīpas”; Abhidharmakośa 3.53 ff. and Bhagavata­purāṇa 5.166 ff. give nine dvīpas and upadvīpas (different in each case).
n.­865
Law (1954, pp. 42–53) lists sixteen major countries (ṣoḍaśa­mahā­jana­pada, Pāli soḷasamahājanapada, places known from the early records of the Buddha’s life) as listed in the Aṅguttaranikāya (Uposathasutta, Bk. 3.71; Vitthatūposathasutta, Bk. 8.42); Ānandajoti Bhikkhu conveniently locates them (Aṅgā, Magadhā, Kāsī, Kosalā, Vajjī, Mallā, Cetī, Vaṃsā, Kurū, Pañcālā, Macchā, Sūrasenā, Assakā, Avantī, Gandhārā, and Kambojā) on a map of ancient Buddhist India.
n.­866
K, N; D “demonstration, making known, and causing mastery.”
n.­867
The passage in full is cited in Āryavimuktisena’s AAVN 65a4–65b4, AAV 126b3–127b1 (Sparham 2006–11, vol. 3, pp. 17–18); also Asvabhāva’s Mahā­yāna­saṃgrahopanibandhana (theg pa chen po bsdus pa’i bshad sbyar, Degé Tengyur [sems tsam, ri], 281a5–6).
n.­868
BPS 40a6–40b3, TMN 2.­426.
n.­869
Cf. TMN 2.­426 (205b2), BPS 40b1: dri yid du ’ong ba’i padma mngon par ’byung ste/ de la de bzhin gshegs pa’i zhabs ’jog go, “Wherever tathāgatas step down with their feet, fragrant lotuses spring up and the tathāgatas place their feet there.”
n.­870
This is paraphrasing TMN 2.­427, BPS 40b3–40b5.
n.­871
D tshig la yi ge log par ’byung ba; K, N tshig la mi dge log par ’byung ba, “swears?” But cf. AAV 126b7: nyon mongs pa’i rta gad chen po dgod pa dang/ so ’tshigs byed pa’am, steg pa’i tshul yang nye bar ston par byed de; AAVN 65a6: dantavidaṣṭakaṃ saṃdaṃṣṭatim upadarśayati, “makes a show of gnashing their teeth.”
n.­872
Paraphrasing TMN 2.­444.
n.­873
Paraphrasing TMN 2.­453–2.­476, BPS 42a7–44a6.
n.­874
Cf. TMN 2.­453, 2.­455; BPS 42b2.
n.­875
Emend bsnyel, Mvy saṃmoṣa (“have a lack of mindfulness”), Jäschke, s.v. bsnyel, “forget,” to TMN 2.­457 (208b7) mnyel, “fatigue”; BPS 42b6 ngal, “tiredness.”
n.­876
Alternatively, “Tathāgatas are also ‘not deficient in meditative stabilization (samādhi).’ In a meditative equipoise (samāhita) on the suchness of all beings and all dharmas, all dharmas are placed in an equal state (samādhīyate) through the suchness (tathatā) that is a sameness (samatā). Hence suchness is called meditative stabilization”; cf. TMN 2.­464–2.­468; BPS 43a5–43b4.
n.­877
BPS 43b4–44a1.
n.­878
TMN 2.­477–2.­479; BPS 44a6–44b2.
n.­879
K, N don med par; D don dam par.
n.­880
The list of sixty (or, rather, sixty-four) in the The Secrets of the Realized Ones (Tathāgata­guhyaka Sūtra, Toh 47) is given below (4.­1184). See also n.­948.
n.­881
Emend lngar to sngar.
n.­882
K, N rtswa is supported by TMN 213a3 and BPS ga 44a6; D has rtsa.
n.­883
1.­42–1.­53.
n.­884
1.­42–1.­53.
n.­885
D srid pa (bhava) is the tenth link of dependent origination, an intense attachment that causes rebirth. Alternatively, emend to sred pa, “clinging.”
n.­886
This is a conjectural translation. It is perhaps referencing a cessation of ordinary breath as a person enters into an ultimate, death-like state.
n.­887
Cf. chos kyi rnam pa mi dmigs pa’i phyir (Ratnākaraśānti’s Śuddhamati, dag ldan, Degé Tengyur [shes phyin, ta], 116a3).
n.­888
This is probably a gloss of khri brgyad 16.­99 (ka 166b6) zhi gnas mi dmigs pa’i phyir (“because calm abiding is unfindable”) that has dropped out of the text. Śuddhamati, dag ldan, Degé Tengyur (shes phyin, ta), 116a3 has zhi gnas med pa’i phyir ro (“because there is no calm abiding.”).
n.­889
Vasubandhu’s Abhi­dharma­kośa­bhāṣya on Abhidharmakośa 4.74 (Shastri, 689) cites “a sūtra” as the source for these sixteen. La Vallée Poussin (Pruden, vol. 2, p. 739, n. 338) cites the Dīrgha, Aṅguttara, and Majjhima Nikāyas. The context is the explanation of lies. Ignoble persons say of what they have or have not seen, and so on, that they have not or have seen it, and so on (eight ignoble uses of conventional designations), and noble persons says of each what is true (eight noble uses of conventional designations).
n.­890
’bum 9.­72 (ga 195b2); nyi khri 9.­45 (ka 246b1) chags, “attached”; LSPW pp. 213–14 “tied down.”
n.­891
khri brgyad 16.­104.
n.­892
This is the seventh of Subhūti’s twenty-eight questions at 4.­678.
n.­893
These are the five questions (khri brgyad 15.­1, cited in Bṭ3 n.­738): “Lord, what is the Great Vehicle of bodhisattva great beings? Lord, to just what extent should bodhisattva great beings be known to have set out in the Great Vehicle? Where will the Great Vehicle have set out? Where will the Great Vehicle stand? Who will go forth in the Great Vehicle?” Here the second question is framed, “How have bodhisattva great beings come to set out in the Great Vehicle?”
n.­894
khri brgyad 17.­1.
n.­895
khri brgyad 17.­13 ff.
n.­896
’bum 10.­16, le’u brgyad ma ga 239b3–4, PSP 1-2: 91; khri brgyad ka 171a2, nyi khri ka 250a4 omit.
n.­897
Cf. The Ten Bhūmis, 1.­109 (Roberts 2021b); Daśa­bhūmika­sūtra (Honda p. 136).
n.­898
Our author does not provide a gloss here for māna­stambhana­nirghātana (Ghoṣa, Gilgit), “destroy arrogant rigidity”; khri brgyad 17.­2 “purification of preventing being puffed up with pride.” Abhisamayālaṃkāra 1.50ab, PSP 1-2: 88, and LSPW p. 214 also omit this.
n.­899
From this point on our author does not provide a gloss for every purification.
n.­900
khri brgyad 17.­4 and 17.­35.
n.­901
Cf. khri brgyad 55.­21; Aṣṭa (Wogihara p. 780).
n.­902
This is an overly abbreviated version of khri brgyad 55.­22; Aṣṭa (Wogihara p. 780) says, “Bodhisattva great beings‍—that is, those in the bodhisattva great beings’ isolation‍—living in jungle, upland forest, and frontier retreats, truly live in isolation.”
n.­903
khri brgyad 17.­5 and 17.­41. The twelve ascetic practices are listed at khri brgyad 41.­6 et passim; Edg, s.v. dhūtaguṇa.
n.­904
khri brgyad 17.­42 explaining 17.­5 “not giving up training.”
n.­905
khri brgyad 17.­44 explaining 17.­5 “production of a thought associated with nirvāṇa.”
n.­906
The meaning of g.yo ba yongs su btang ba here is unclear to me.
n.­907
khri brgyad 17.­46, explaining 17.­5 “great beings’ unmixed mind” (āveṇikacitta?), probably a mistake for “uncowed mind” (avalīnacitta).
n.­908
khri brgyad 17.­77, explaining 17.­8 “settle down on the view that the Buddha should be resorted to.” The following are glossing passages down to khri brgyad 17.­90, explaining down to 17.­9: “realizing the way things are perfect.”
n.­909
K, N.
n.­910
khri brgyad 17.­93, explaining 17.­9 “the exposition of the one way things are.”
n.­911
khri brgyad 17.­95, explaining 17.­9 “reversing views.”
n.­912
khri brgyad 17.­99, explaining 17.­9 “calmed state of mind.”
n.­913
Earlier the list for the seventh level (khri brgyad 17.­9, ka 170a4–5) has “unobstructed knowledge” (shes pa thogs pa med pa) followed by “the attachment-free level” (rjes su ’chags pa’i sa ma yin pa); in the explanation (khri brgyad 17.­100) it asks the question, “What is unobstructed knowledge?” This is followed by “What is knowledge that does not enter into attachment?” (rjes su ’chags pa la mi ’jug pa’i shes pa gang). Cp. ’bum 10.­9 (ga 198b2), nyi khri 10.­8 (ga 249a6) byams pa’i skabs shes pa; Gilgit 354.7 anunayāvasarajñatā (“knowledge of opportunities for loving kindness”). Mvy skabs renders avasara; Abhi­samayālaṃkāra 1.65a sakti (“attachment” in a positive sense) is a gloss of anunaya (“loving kindness”).
n.­914
khri brgyad 17.­107, explaining 17.­10 “attend on the buddhas and properly contemplate the buddha bodies.”
n.­915
Vakkalisutta in Suttanikāya 3.119 (PTS edition, 119–20); also BPS kha 277a.
n.­916
Golden 212b4–5 sems. D sems can “purifying the field of beings‍—me and others. There is no buddhafield except the field of beings, because it is simply just a representation.” This is glossing khri brgyad 17.­110: “It is purifying the minds of all beings,” explaining 17.­10 “purification of a buddhafield.”
n.­917
khri brgyad 17.­112, explaining 17.­10 “constantly being absorbed in meditation”; samāpatti means both “completion” and “absorption.”
n.­918
khri brgyad 17.­117, explaining 17.­11.
n.­919
“Is done” renders kṛta; “knowledge” renders āvid.
n.­920
This renders kṛtāvin.
n.­921
This is the eighth of Subhūti’s twenty-eight questions (4.­678).
n.­922
This is the third of the five questions at khri brgyad 15.­1 that has gang la, “where,” in place of gang nas, “from where” here, cited in Bṭ3 n.­738.
n.­923
This is a creative etymology linking arūpin, “formless,” with (a)ruh (causal (a)ropaya/ropaṇa), “to raise up.” The author means this metaphorically: “they are not causing you to form a notion of anything.” The Tib translators have rendered this rather elegantly with gzugs, the future or nonperfect form of the voluntary (tha dad pa) root ’dzugs pa; also used as a nonvoluntary (tha mi dad pa) perfect form of the same verb, (cp. ’dzin / zin). The Tib verb has the sense of “plant,” as in “plant a flag.”
n.­924
This glosses a passage not found in the extant Skt or Tib versions of the Sūtra.
n.­925
4.­511–4.­521.
n.­926
khri brgyad 18.­12.
n.­927
Understand the word shog to be a form of zho, “yogurt, milk.”
n.­928
This is the ninth of Subhūti’s twenty-eight questions (4.­678) and the fourth of the five questions at khri brgyad 15.­1.
n.­929
khri brgyad 18.­35.
n.­930
khri brgyad 18.­36. This is the tenth of Subhūti’s twenty-eight questions (Bṭ3 4.­678) and the fifth of the five questions at khri brgyad 15.­1.
n.­931
Cf. khri brgyad 18.­38, nyi khri 10.­70, ’bum 10.­258, and Lhasa Kangyur (shes phyin, ’bum, ga 229b6–7), which omit “Lord,” framing it as a rhetorical question.”
n.­932
khri brgyad 18.­38, nyi khri 10.­70, ’bum 10.­258 all omit and start with chos kyi dbyings, “dharma-constituent.”
n.­933
khri brgyad 19.­1 ff. This is the eleventh of Subhūti’s twenty-eight questions (Bṭ3 4.­678) and goes together with the twelfth rhetorical question, “That vehicle is equal to space?” that our author introduces just below. Our author says it is the Great Vehicle as a result, following on from the earlier explanation (Bṭ3 4.­786 ff.) of the Great Vehicle as practice. The last of the five questions (khri brgyad 15.­1) leads into an explanation of the resultant Great Vehicle because it occasions the statement (khri brgyad 18.­36), “that vehicle, one who goes forth, that by which one goes forth, from where one goes forth, all those dharmas do not exist and are not apprehended.”
n.­934
Glossed in Śrījagattalanivāsin’s Āmnayānusāriṇī, man ngag gi rjes su brang ba Degé Tengyur (shes phyin, ba), 49b7–50a1.
n.­935
Here a going is called a yāna (“going,” “vehicle”). The great niryāṇa (“going forth,” “that from which going has gone,” “definite emergence,” “escape”) is the mahāyāna (“great vehicle,” “great going”). Because it surpasses the three worlds and is a definite emergence, or escape (niryāṇa), from them all, that going forth (niryāṇa) is bigger, hence it is called a Great Vehicle. I have rendered niryāṇa as “going forth” and Mahāyāna as “Great Vehicle.” The translation terms are not intended to convey all the aspects of the Skt words, but, as with the Tib translations, are lexical markers for them.
n.­936
khri brgyad 19.­2 omits “Great.”
n.­937
Alternatively, de nyid may mean “its” greatness.
n.­938
K, N; D: “It teaches it is equal to space because it has a great amount of room; because its production, stopping, and so on do not exist; because it is not included in the three time periods; and because of a threefold cause.”
n.­939
What our author intends here is that Subhūti’s opening statement (khri brgyad 19.­1) is in three parts, and the remainder of the chapter spoken by the Lord (khri brgyad 19.­5–19.­111) is structured around the three parts of Subhūti’s statement that is further broken down into five subsections, each introduced by the Lord repeating what Subhūti said (khri brgyad 19.­9 ff., 19.­41 ff., 19.­64 ff., 19.­82 ff., and 19.­97 ff., up to 19.­111).
n.­940
This is just khri brgyad 19.­5–19.­8; ’bum 11.­5–11.­8.
n.­941
These five are in Subhūti’s opening statement (khri brgyad 19.­1–19.­4).
n.­942
khri brgyad 19.­10.
n.­943
This is spelled out explicitly later at khri brgyad 19.­17 ff. Cp. Ghoṣa, who edits this section consistently with an avagraha sign bhāvo ’bhaviy[=ṣ]yan, “not existent and not not existent.”
n.­944
Alternatively, ngo bo nyid med pa’i dngos po, “a thing without an intrinsic nature.”
n.­945
The “falling hairs” in “matted falling hairs” (skra shad ’dzing pa) are imaginary strands of hair that appear as if falling in front of the eyes of people with an eye disease.
n.­946
Our author presumably means not ultimately true, only conventionally so.
n.­947
Emend chos to chos nyid.
n.­948
Secrets of the Tathāgatas Sūtra, Degé Kangyur F.133.a–133.b; MSAvyT 182b2 ff.; AAV 83a5 ff. Note that the text of the sūtra itself mentions there being sixty-four qualities rather than sixty.
n.­949
Emend brtags to brtabs.
n.­950
Emend gnyen po to mnyen po, MSAvy (Lèvi, 80) snigdha (“soft, pliable”). In this same sentence nye bar ston is either a mistake, or derived from the rten/gtan/bsten verbal complex; MSAvy (Lèvi, p. 80) upasthambhikatva.
n.­951
“Modulated” renders valgu, “quality of strength” balaguṇa.
n.­952
Cf. Edg, s.v. aneḍa, “not injurious,” “presumed to represent Skt an-enas.” Here tshugs is a nonvoluntary form.
n.­953
MW, s.v. kalā, citing the bālarāmāyaṇa.
n.­954
Pensa (113) tadvyatikrame samyag niḥsaraṇopadaiśikatva; MSAvy (Lévi, p. 80) tadvyatikramasaṃpan niḥsaraṇopadeśakatva; AAV de las ’das na nges par ’byung ba’i thabs yang dag par ston par mdzad pa, “is the means of perfect renunciation” (=niḥsaraṇopāyopadeśika).
n.­955
MSAvy prītisukha­saṃjananī; TGN, K, N dga’ bde bskyed pa.
n.­956
ston par byed pa here and for the next quality render MSAvy darśikatva and then daiśikatva; Pensa daiśikatva both times.
n.­957
sgra gsang mtho ba, perhaps reading uccāra; MSAvy, Pensa udāratva; MSAvyT, AAV rgya che ba nyid, “expansive.”
n.­958
myur du (=kṣipra) ’gyur ba’i ngang tshul can; MSAvy, Pensa abhīkṣṇa­bhaṅgara; MSAvyT, AAV rno ba dang ’jigs pa, “sharp and reverberating.”
n.­959
gal bar bya ba ma yin pa from atisṛ (Mvy atisārinī = ’gal ba); MSAvy, Pensa anatikramaṇīya; MSAvyT, AAV ’da’ bar bya ba, “not something you want to go beyond.”
n.­960
D mi rtag is a wrong reading.
n.­961
’jigs pa med pa. MSAvyT, AAV bsnyengs pa dang bral (= bhayāpagata?); MSAvy, Pensa sāvadyāpagata, “nothing wrong in it to criticize.”
n.­962
This renders chub pa? Pensa sakalā; Mvy sakhilā (Edg, “smooth, soft”); MSAvy akhilā; MSAvyT thab dang bcas pa’i ched ni/ sems can rnams kyi de dag gi don thams cad sgrub par byed pa’i phyir ro; AAV sems can rnams kyi don de dag thams cad rdzogs par mdzad pa’i phyir tha ma med pa’o; Bṭ1 na 240b3 byang chub pa.
n.­963
MSAvy, Pensa āgamita­prayuktatvāt, “it is connected with what has come down in the tradition”; MSAvyT dus la bab par rab tu sbyor ba, “is connected with the appropriate occasion”; AAV thob pa’i dus su rab tu sbyor ba, “is connected with the time of attainment”; Bṭ1 na 240b5 ma ’ongs pa’i dus na de bzhin du mi ’gyur ba, “in the future similarly does not change.”
n.­964
MSAvy, Pensa acapalā, “not too quick, does not trip over itself.”
n.­965
MSAvy, Pensa sarva­laukikārtha­dṛṣṭānta­dharma­pariṇāmitvād; MSAvyT, AAV ’jig rten pa’i don thams cad dpe’i chos su bsgyur ba, “it turns all ordinary things into examples for Dharma”; Bṭ1 na 240b6 ’jig rten pa dang ’khor las ’das pa’i don dang dpe’i chos thams cad mchog dang ldan pa, “it is endowed with excellent ordinary and transcendental meaning and example dharmas.”
n.­966
Here the “Master” (slob dpon, ācārya) would have to be Asaṅga, not Vasubandhu, if Vasubandhu is indeed our author.
n.­967
The words cited from the Sūtra have not been explicitly identified, and numbers have been added for the ease of the English-speaking reader.
n.­968
“Constituent” renders khams (dhatu), referring to khri brgyad 19.­54: “there is no first production of the thought of awakening in space,” and so on.
n.­969
“The twos” are the sets of pairs or dualities at khri brgyad 19.­58: “does not have form, is not formless, does not show itself, does not not show itself, is not blocked, is not not blocked, is not united, is not separated.” Alternatively, out author perhaps understands these to be the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas and buddhas.
n.­970
The Summary of the Doctrine (chos kyi mdo) is: “All compounded phenomena are impermanent; all contaminated phenomena are suffering; all phenomena are without a self; nirvāṇa is peace”; alternatively, “All compounded things are impermanent, everything with outflows is suffering, all dharmas are selfless, and nirvāṇa is peace.” See The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara (Sāgara­nāga­rāja­paripṛcchā). Cf. Ratnākaraśānti’s Śuddhamatī, dag ldan Degé Tengyur (shes phyin, ta), 84a3–4: chos kyi mdo bzhi ni ’du byed thams cad mi rtag pa/ zag pa dang bcas pa’i chos thams cad ni sdug bsngal ba/ chos thams cad ni bdag med pa/ mya ngan las ’das pa ni zhi ba’o.
n.­971
This is referring to khri brgyad 19.­61: “is not isolated, is not not isolated, is not light, and is not dark.”
n.­972
nyi khri 11.­55, ’bum 11.­45; khri brgyad 19.­47 (ka 198a2) gnas pa dang ’bral ba.
n.­973
I have not emended gsum to gsum pa, even though this is referencing Subhūti’s third statement repeated by the Lord at khri brgyad 19.­64. The three are the statements about beings, space, and the Great Vehicle.
n.­974
Gilgit 378.6 takes all as plurals: “it is because the states of existence are states not existing (sattvāsattā) that spaces are states not existing”; LSPW “it is because of the nonbeingness [asattā] of beings [sattva].”
n.­975
khri brgyad 19.­69.
n.­976
The context is the infinite amount of room in the Great Vehicle for an infinite amount of beings.
n.­977
Golden 223a6; D adds “twenty-six.”
n.­978
The three are beings, space, and the Great Vehicle.
n.­979
This is a brief way of saying the dharma-constituent is put in place of suchness and connected with the three‍—beings, space, and Great Vehicle‍—and then with nonexistent, infinite, countless, and beyond measure.
n.­980
The thirteen synonyms are listed with the first of the three‍—a being‍—and then connected with the very limit of reality in place of suchness, and then with nonexistence and so on.
n.­981
This usage of bkol (a perfect form of ’khol) is noteworthy.
n.­982
’bum 11.­79–11.­90 (Ghoṣa p. 1570 ff.), and nyi khri 11.­81-11.­86 spell out the six outer sense fields (a form, a sound and so on) down to the twelve links of dependent origination perfections; khri brgyad omits.
n.­983
khri brgyad 19.­74.
n.­984
’bum 11.­97 (Ghoṣa p. 1581 ff.) spells out the noble truths and so on; khri brgyad omits.
n.­985
khri brgyad 19.­76.
n.­986
Cf. ’bum 11.­110, nyi khri 11.­96, khri brgyad 19.­82.
n.­987
See n.­939.
n.­988
K, N g.yo ba; D dbye ba, “undivided.”
n.­989
“Those” are the “basic nature,” “suchness,” “intrinsic nature,” and “mark” of each of the dharmas beginning with form that “do not come, go, or remain.” I have not indicated the words in the list that are directly cited from the Sūtra.
n.­990
This complete list of synonyms beginning with “suchness,” down to “the certification of dharmas,” is not in any of the extant versions of the Sūtra I have consulted.
n.­991
This is the last of the five statements (4.­1174, n.­941).
n.­992
Gilgit 382.12, Ghoṣa p. 1618, PSP 1-2: 130; khri brgyad stong pa omit.
n.­993
Here btsal is an archaism for sel, Mvy paryudasta.
n.­994
’bum 11.­136 ff. (Ghoṣa p. 1623), nyi khri 11.­122; khri brgyad 19.­106, Gilgit 383.14, PSP 1-2: 134 omit.
n.­995
khri brgyad 19.­112.
n.­996
The remainder of Subhūti’s twenty-eight questions ( 4.­678) and the responses are khri brgyad 20.­1–20.­106. First are the statements made by Subhūti (khri brgyad 20.­8–20.­10) that are then queried by Śāriputra (khri brgyad 20.­11), and then answered by Subhūti up to the end of the chapter (khri brgyad 20.­106).
n.­997
khri brgyad 20.­1.
n.­998
khri brgyad 6.­1.
n.­999
khri brgyad 20.­7, Ghoṣa p. 1642, Gilgit 385.13.
n.­1000
The ten statements (khri brgyad 20.­8–20.­10) are (1) “one does not assert a bodhisattva at the prior limit”; (2) one has to know the limitlessness of a bodhisattva through the limitlessness of form; (3) even such an idea as ‘form is a bodhisattva’ does not exist; (4) I, who thus do not see and do not find a bodhisattva great being as anyone at all in any way at all‍—to which bodhisattva great being will I give advice and instruction in which perfection of wisdom?; (5) you say ‘bodhisattva’ is just a word; (6) you say ‘self’ again and again, but it has absolutely not come into being; (7) given that all phenomena thus have no intrinsic nature, what is that form which has come into being?; (8) what has not come into being is not form; (9) Lord, you cannot apprehend those bodhisattva great beings who would practice for awakening other than those who have not come into being, so does what has not come into being give advice and instruction in a perfection of wisdom that has not come into being?; and (10) one should know when the mind of a bodhisattva given such instruction is not cowed.
n.­1001
nyi khri 12.­9 mi dmigs. Ghoṣa p. 1642, Gilgit 385.14 nopalabhyate; PSP 1-2: 137 nopaiti; khri brgyad 20.­8 (ka 211a3) khas len, “assert.”
n.­1002
D, K, N, Golden 228a4 all read “has come into being”; khri brgyad 20.­11, nyi khri 12.­10 “has not come into being.”
n.­1003
K, N, Golden 228b1; D “has come into being.”
n.­1004
Earlier (4.­679) it says there are twenty-eight questions.
n.­1005
This is the Lord’s reply (khri brgyad 20.­3) to Subhūti when Pūrṇa asks why, having been told to talk about the perfection of wisdom, Subhūti talks about the Great Vehicle.
n.­1006
These are Subhūti’s answers to Śāriputra, nyi khri 12.­12 ff. (consistently mi dmigs, “does not apprehend”), khri brgyad 20.­12 (ka 212b) ff. (khas mi len, “does not assert”).
n.­1007
nyi khri 12.­12.
n.­1008
“Does not come close to,” nye bar ’gro ba med do, is another rendering of nopaiti, rendered above by mi dmigs so (“does not apprehend”) and in khri brgyad by khas mi len (“does not assert”); LSPW pp. 244–46 “does not approach.” The closest to this is khri brgyad 20.­16 (ka 213a4–5).
n.­1009
Cf. khri brgyad 20.­26, which again has “assert” in place of “come close.”
n.­1010
khri brgyad 20.­32.
n.­1011
khri brgyad 20.­37.
n.­1012
khri brgyad 20.­44.
n.­1013
Śāriputra’s question was: “Why, Venerable Subhūti, do you say, ‘So Lord, I, who thus do not see and do not find a bodhisattva great being as anyone at all in any way at all‍—to which bodhisattva great being will I give advice and instruction in which perfection of wisdom?’ ”
n.­1014
khri brgyad 20.­55.
n.­1015
I understand our author to mean falsely imagined form “is” ultimate form because it is not different from it, because it is not there ultimately at all. Alternatively, if ultimate form is the name then it too is falsely imagined and hence not different.
n.­1016
“Repeat” renders bsgre par bya’o. A ’gre is a subsection of a longer connected passage. This is a voluntary, transitive (or causal) form of that.
n.­1017
khri brgyad 20.­61.
n.­1018
Golden 230b6; at khri brgyad 20.­73 ’dus pa has accidentally been left out.
n.­1019
Golden 231a2 nus par gyur pa’i stong pa nyid; D nus par ’gyur ba’i stong pa nyid; K, N nus par byung stong pa nyid.
n.­1020
khri brgyad 20.­77.
n.­1021
Pensa p. 60, tatrāsadartha ’nityārthaḥ; cf. khri brgyad 38.­1 (kha 86b1) ma mchis pa.
n.­1022
The Teaching of Akṣayamati (Akṣaya­mati­nirdeśa) blo gros mi zad pas bstan pa, Degé Kangyur (mdo sde, ma), 1.­327 (Braarvig and Welsh 2020), 168b.7 de la mi rtag pa’i don gang zhe na/ med pa’i don dang.
n.­1023
If yod pa las gyur pa renders sadbhūta it would mean “there is nothing truly real at all.”
n.­1024
nyi khri 12.­95; PSP 1-2: 150 yad anityaṃ so ’bhāvaḥ kṣayaś ca; LSPW pp. 252–54 “nonexistence and extinction.” khri brgyad 20.­79 “it is because that which is impermanent has come to an end, is a nonexistent thing.”
n.­1025
If the original compound is a bahuvrihi it would mean “suffering is called ‘what is on account of falsely imagined dharmas.’ ”
n.­1026
khri brgyad 20.­79 “suffering, selfless, calm, empty, signless, and wishless, … wholesome, not a basic immorality, without outflows, without afflictions, extraordinary, purified, and uncompounded.”
n.­1027
khri brgyad 20.­81.
n.­1028
khri brgyad 20.­84.
n.­1029
In place of ’dzin (“grasp”), khri brgyad 20.­92 (ka 224a3) has khas len (“assert”); nyi khri 12.­149 (ka 344a6) dmigs (“apprehend”). Gilgit 400.8–9 (na) upaiti.
n.­1030
K, N rim pa; D rigs pa, “logic.”
n.­1031
khri brgyad 20.­96, K, N; D “the nonproduction of form is form.”
n.­1032
If one leaves ngo bo nyid (svabhāva) untranslated, it means, simply, “the true nature of dharmas is not falsely imagined form.” I have rendered kun brtags pa’i gzugs kyi ngo bo nyid ma yin pa (na parikalpita­rūpa­svabhāva) literally to leave open the possibility that the author intends to say that the true nature of dharmas (dharmatā) does not have the falsely imagined (parikalpita) for its intrinsic nature, nor the falsely imagined the true nature of dharmas for its intrinsic nature.
n.­1033
khri brgyad 20.­100.
n.­1034
khri brgyad 20.­102.
n.­1035
Cited above 4.­1267.
n.­1036
khri brgyad 20.­102 ff. goes through categories of the thoroughly afflicted and purification dharmas but it does not explicitly include the “suchness, true nature of dharmas” category found at ’bum 12.­640–12.­640 and nyi khri 12.­202. However, both the longer versions omit the first “form… is impermanent” statement.
n.­1037
khri brgyad 20.­106.
n.­1038
khri brgyad 21.­1.
n.­1039
khri brgyad 20.­92, 20.­96, 20.­102, 20.­106.
n.­1040
rnam pa (ākāra) is rendered “aspect” in the earlier line, and here by “attribute.”
n.­1041
The perfection of wisdom (prajñāpāramitā) has gone far off (āram itā).
n.­1042
khri brgyad 21.­6 “it has gone far off from the aggregates, constituents, sense fields, and dependent origination… all defilement… the six forms of life… the perfection of giving… inner emptiness… the applications of mindfulness… the knowledge of all aspects.”
n.­1043
nyi khri 13.­6. “Gone to the other side” (pāram itā).
n.­1044
“Skillful means” thabs (upāya) is part of the creative etymology of upaparīkṣa. K, N rigs pas brtags, “researching through skillful means and reasoning.”
n.­1045
khri brgyad 21.­12.
n.­1046
skye ba med pa; K, N med pa, “does not exist.”
n.­1047
khri brgyad 21.­18.
n.­1048
4.­488; also 4.­1143.
n.­1049
4.­1293.
n.­1050
khri brgyad 21.­25.
n.­1051
4.­1293.
n.­1052
4.­679.
n.­1053
khri brgyad 21.­27.
n.­1054
K, N mngon par rdzogs par yod pa (“is there manifestly and completely”) is an unusual rendering of abhisamaya. A later editor of the canon failed to replace it with mngon par rtogs pa, the reading in the following gloss.
n.­1055
The other ten are (1) the five objects of the senses and (2) the five senses.
n.­1056
This means the eye faculty and so on are blocked from seeing forms and so on. Alternatively, if apratigha means “unobstructed,” it means the sense faculties are not obstructed from knowing their object in the way an inert material object is.
n.­1057
The section on nonproduction, including the objections and responses, is khri brgyad 21.­24–21.­32.
n.­1058
khri brgyad 21.­42.
n.­1059
nyi khri 13.­56, 13.­57; khri brgyad 21.­45 and 21.­47 differ slightly.
n.­1060
khri brgyad 21.­24–21.­32.
n.­1061
khri brgyad 21.­55.
n.­1062
khri brgyad 21.­62.
n.­1063
khri brgyad 21.­66. “Ordinary world” renders loka (“ordinary,” “world,” “person”). Generally, loka means both a world and a person, in the sense suggested by John Dunne’s “No man is an island, entire of itself.” The “ordinary” is the opposite of the “extraordinary,” that is, the path and the result. The ordinary is the location of a person, the five aggregates, conveyed by the standard Tib rendering of loka as ’jig rten, “perishing basis.”
n.­1064
The “forbearance” (kṣānti) can be the third division of the aids to knowledge that penetrates true reality (nirvedha­bhāgīya) or the “path of seeing” (prayogamārga). Here the context suggests a threefold division of the eighth bodhisattva level, or, alternatively, the last three bodhisattva levels.
n.­1065
khri brgyad 21.­62–21.­77. This is the explanation of each of the six perfections as ordinary and extraordinary based on whether the bodhisattvas apprehend or do not apprehend anything.
n.­1066
khri brgyad 21.­78.
n.­1067
This section is explaining the usage of laukikī, a secondary derivative (“worldly, to do with the world”) from loka (itself perhaps from a root like ruc, “to shine”). The explanation relates laukikī to loka by putting loka in each of the seven cases, nominative and so on. Each explanation should be understood as, for instance in the first of the seven, “[the aggregates are laukikī because it is] on account of them the loka is here. PSP 1-2:171 kena kāraṇena laukikī? loko yābhir bhavati, lokaṃ vā yābhir nivartayati, lokena vā yāḥ samāḥ, lokāya vā yābhir dīyate, lokād vā yābhir [na?] niḥsarati, lokasya vā yā bhavāya, loke vā bhavā yās tā laukikasyaḥ. “Why are they laukikī? They are called laukikī because they are those on account which the world (nominative) exists; or on account of which [afflictive emotion and karma] the world (accusative) is established; or which are the same as the world (instrumental); or on account of which [five sense objects] something is given to the world [of the six senses]; or on account of which, [the links of dependent origination and so on, they do not] escape from the world (ablative); or [ordinary beings] who are for the coming into existence of the world (genitive); or [beings] who come into being in the world (locative).”
n.­1068
This is a speculative translation based on the idea that ordinary beings procreate and increase in the world.
n.­1069
This section again puts loka in each of the seven cases, nominative and so on, and explains the usage of lokottara (“extraordinary, transcendental, supramundane”) a compound word composed of loka and uttara (“higher”). In most of the following explanations, however, the word uttara is derived not from uttara, but from uttṝ (“to escape”)‍—for instance, the first of the seven, “[the parts of noble eightfold path are lokottara because] on account of them the loka (“person”) (nominative) escapes.” PSP 1-2:171 tatra katamā lokottarā? loko yābhir uttarati, lokaṃ vā yābhir uttārayati, lokena vā yābhir uttāryate, ālokāya vā yā bhavati, lokād vā yābhir niḥsarati, lokasya vā yā uttaraṇāya, loke vā yā uttarās tā lokottarā iti: “There, what are the lokottaras? They are called lokottaras [because they are those] on account of which the world (nominative) escapes; or on account of which [compassion and wisdom] they free the world (accusative); or on account of which [compassion and wisdom], a world [=a person] (instrumental) causes an escape; or which are there for illumination (dative); or on account of which they escape the world (ablative); or who are for the emancipation of the world (genitive); or who are the emancipators in the world (locative).”
n.­1070
khri brgyad 21.­79. According to LC, sel bar byed pa renders nivartayati. le’u brgyad ma nga 5b7 gang dag ’jig rten sgrol ba yin, “they free the world.”
n.­1071
le’u brgyad ma nga 5b7 gang dag gis ’jig rten gyi rgal bar byed pa, “those which cause a crossing over the world.”
n.­1072
le’u brgyad ma nga 5b7–6a1 don du, “those that are not there for the purpose of the world” makes the dative clearer.
n.­1073
le’u brgyad ma nga 6a1 gang dag’jig rten gyi sgrol byed yin pa, “those who are the emancipators of the world”
n.­1074
Cf. khri brgyad 21.­86; nyi khri 13.­101.
n.­1075
Rongtön (rong ston shes bya kun khyab) in his sher phyin stong phrag brgya pa’i rnam ’grel, pp. 638–39, says this means that Subhūti is saying it is “excellent” because, as Śāriputra says, were bodhisattvas bodhisattvas just because they pay attention, then all beings would indeed be bodhisattvas. Subhūti says Śāriputra’s statement is open to logical objection because it could only be true when the words are taken too literally, so it forces the reader to think about what he is actually saying. To that extent what Śāriputra says has got at what he, Subhūti, means, namely that bodhisattvas have compassion for (“pay attention to”) all beings even while cultivating a state free from thought construction.
n.­1076
D; Golden 243b1 lta “those sorts of attentions.”
n.­1077
Cf. khri brgyad 21.­91, nyi khri 13.­113, Gilgit 415.11–12. The corresponding part of the Śata­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā (xiii F.144.a, cited and translated in LSPW folios 267-268, p. 201, n. 13) says explicitly this attention is a “compassionate” (mahā­karuṇā­manasīkāreṇa) state.
n.­1078
2.­2.
n.­1079
K, N de bzhin gshegs pas. The reading in D, de bzhin gshegs pa, may intend, “In this tathāgata the perfection of wisdom is a threefold teaching: brief, middling, and detailed.”
n.­1933
As this statement makes clear, the Maitreya Chapter was not included in the version of the Hundred Thousand that our author was following. In fact, among the long Perfection of Wisdom sūtras as they were brought to Tibet, it may only have been included in the Twenty-Five Thousand (in which it is chapter 72) and the Eighteen Thousand (in which it is chapter 83). In both sūtras its title, as given in the chapter colophon, is “Categorization of a Bodhisattva’s Training.” The traditional explanation is that this particular chapter, along with the three other final chapters recounting the narrative of Sadāprarudita, were held back by the nāgas when Nāgārjuna brought the text of the Hundred Thousand from their realm to the human world. While the versions of the Hundred Thousand in the Degé Kangyur and in most Kangyurs of both Tshalpa and Themphangma lineages thus do not include it, it is present in the versions in the Narthang and Lhasa Kangyurs, following a tradition (mentioned in the Degé Kangyur dkar chag F.117.a) of completing the text by adding these chapters from the other long sūtras.

b.

Bibliography

Primary Sources‍—Tibetan

’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa ’bum dang / nyi khri lnga sgong pa dang / khri brgyad stong pa rgya cher bshad pa (Ārya­śata­sāhasrikā­pañca­viṃśati­sāhasrikāṣṭādaśa-sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitābṭhaṭṭīkā) [The Long Explanation of the Noble Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand, Twenty-Five Thousand, and Eighteen Thousand Lines]. Vasubandhu/Daṃṣṭrāsena. Toh 3808, Degé Tengyur vol. 93 (shes phyin, pha), folios 1b–292b.

shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa brgyad stong pa (Aṣṭa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā) [The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines]. Toh 12, Degé Kangyur vol. 33 (shes phyin, brgyad stong pa, ka), folios 1b–286a.

shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa khri brgyad stong pa (Aṣṭā­daśa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā) [The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines]. Toh 10, Degé Kangyur (shes phyin, khri brgyad, ka, kha, ga), folios (ga) 1b–206a. English translation in Sparham 2022.

shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa khri pa (Daśa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā) [The Perfection of Wisdom in Ten Thousand Lines]. Toh 11, Degé Kangyur (shes phyin, khri pa, ga, nga), folios 1b–91a, 1b–397a. English translation in Dorje 2018.

shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa rdo rje bcod pa (Vajracchedikā) [The Diamond Sūtra]. Toh 16, Degé Kangyur (shes phyin, rna tshogs, ka), folios 121a–132b.

shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag brgya pa (Śata­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā) [The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines]. Toh 8, Degé Kangyur (shes phyin, ’bum, ka–a), 12 vols. English translation in Sparham 2024.

shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa (Pañca­viṃśati­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā) [The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines]. Toh 9, Degé Kangyur (shes phyin, nyi khri, ka–a), 3 vols. English translation in Padmakara 2023.

shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa sdud pa tshigs su bcad pa (Prajñā­pāramitā­ratna­guṇa­saṃcaya­gāthā) [“Verse Summary of the Jewel Qualities”]. In shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa khri brgyad stong pa (Aṣṭā­daśa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā) Toh 10, Degé Kangyur (shes phyin, khri brgyad, ga), folios 163a–181.b. Also Toh 13, Degé Kangyur vol. 34 (shes rab sna tshogs pa, ka), folios 1b–19b. English translation in Sparham 2022.

Primary Sources‍—Sanskrit

Abhi­samayālaṃkāra-nāma-prajñā­pāramitopadeśa­śāstra [Ornament for the Clear Realizations]. Edited by Unrai Wogihara (1973).

Aṣṭa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā [The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines]. Edited by Unrai Wogihara (1973) incorporating Mitra (1888).

Pañcaviṃśati-sāhasrikā Prajñā-pāramitā [“The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines”]. Edited by Nalinaksha Dutt with critical notes and introduction (Calcutta Oriental Series, 28. London: Luzac, 1934.) Reprint edition, Sri Satguru Publications, 1986.

Pañca­viṃśati­sāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā [The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines]. Edited by Takayasu Kimura. Tokyo: Sankibo Busshorin 2007–9 (1-1, 1-2), 1986 (2-3), 1990 (4), 1992 (5), 2006 (6-8). Available online (input by Klaus Wille, Göttingen) at GRETIL.

Secondary References

Sūtras

’phags pa chos bcu pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Ārya­daśa­dharmaka-nāma-mahāyāna­sūtra) [The Ten Dharmas Sūtra]. Toh 53, Degé Kangyur vol. 40 (dkon brtsegs, kha), folios 164a6–184b6.

’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i snying po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Ārya­tathāgata­garbha-nāma-mahā­yāna­sūtra) [The Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra]. Toh 258, Dege Kangyur vol. 66 (mdo sde, za), folios 245b2–259b4.

’phags pa lang kar gshegs pa’i theg pa chen po’i mdo (Ārya­laṅkāvatāra­mahā­yāna­sūtra) [Descent into Laṅkā Sūtra]. Toh 107, Degé Kangyur vol. 49 (mdo sde, ca), folios 56a1–191b7.

’phags pa lha mo dpal ’phreng gi seng ge’i sgra (Śrī­mālā­devī­siṃha­nāda­sūtra) [Lion’s Roar of the Goddess Śrīmālā]. Toh 92, Degé Kangyur vol. 44 (dkon brtsegs, cha), folios 255a1–277b7.

blo gros mi zad pas bstan pa (Akṣaya­mati­nirdeśa) [The Teaching of Akṣayamati]. Toh 175, Degé Kangyur vol. 60 (mdo sde, ma), folios 79a1–174b7. English translation in Braarvig and Welsh 2020.

blo gros rgya mtshos zhus pa’i mdo (Sāgara­mati­paripṛcchā) [The Questions of Sāgaramati]. Toh 152, Degé Kangyur vol. 58 (mdo sde, pha), folios 1b1–115b7. English translation in Dharmachakra 2020.

byang chub sems dpa’i sde snod kyi mdo (Bodhi­sattva­piṭaka­sūtra) [The Bodhisattva’s Scriptural Collection]. Toh 56, Degé Kangyur vols. 40–41 (dkon brtsegs, kha, ga), folios 255b1–294a7, 1b1–205b1. English translation in Norwegian Institute of Palaeography and Historical Philology 2023.

dam pa’i chos padma dkar po (Saddharma­puṇḍarika) [The White Lotus of the Good Dharma]. Toh 113, Degé Kangyur vol. 51 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1b1–180b7. English translation in Roberts 2018.

de bshin gshegs pa’i gsang ba bsam gyis mi khyab pa’i bstan pa (Tathāgatācintya­guhyaka­nirdeśa) [Explanation of the Inconceivable Secrets of the Tathāgatas]. Toh 47, Degé Kangyur vol. 39 (dkon brtsegs, ka), folios 100a7–203a. English translation in Fiordalis, David. and Dharmachakra Translation Committee 2023.

de bzhin gshegs pa’i snying rje chen po nges par bstan pa (Tathāgata­mahā­karuṇā­nirdeśa) [The Teaching on the Great Compassion of the Tathāgata]. Toh 147, Degé Kangyur vol. 57 (mdo sde, pa), folios 142a1–242b7. English translation in Burchardi 2020.

Dhāraṇīśvara­rāja. See de bzhin gshegs pa’i snying rje chen po nges par bstan pa.

dri ma med par grags pas bstan pa (Vimala­kīrti­nirdeśa) [The Teaching of Vimalakīrti]. Toh 176, Degé Kangyur vol. 60 (mdo sde, ma), folios 175a1–239b7. English translation in Thurman 2017.

mdo chen po stong pa nyid ces bya ba (Śūnyatā-nāma-mahāśūtra) [Great Sūtra called Emptiness]. Toh 290, Degé Kangyur vol. 71 (mdo sde, sha), folios 250a1–253b2.

rgya cher rol pa (Lalitavistara) [The Play in Full]. Toh 95, Degé Kangyur vol. 46 (mdo sde, kha), folios 1b1–216b7. English translation in Dharmachakra 2013.

sa bcu pa’i mdo (Daśa­bhūmika­sūtra) [The Ten Bhūmis]. See sangs rgyas phal po che zhes bya ba las, sa bcu’i le’u ste, sum cu rtsa gcig pa’o.

sangs rgyas phal po che zhes bya ba las, sa bcu’i le’u ste, sum cu rtsa gcig pa’o (sa bcu pa’i mdo, Daśa­bhūmika­sūtra) [The Ten Bhūmis]. Degé Kangyur vol. 36 (phal chen, kha), folios 166.a5–283.a7. English translation in Roberts 2021.

sangs rgyas phal po che zhes bya ba shin tu rgyas pa chen po’i mdo (Buddhāvataṃsaka-nāma-mahā­vaipūlya­sūtra) [Avataṃsaka Sūtra]. Toh 44, Degé Kangyur vols. 35–36 (phal chen, ka–a).

tshangs pa’i dra ba’i mdo (Brahmajālasūtra) [The Sūtra of Brahma’s Net]. Toh 352, Degé Kangyur vol. 76 (mdo sde, aḥ), folios 70b2–86a2.

Indic Commentaries

Abhayākaragupta. shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa brgyad stong pa’i ’grel pa gnad kyi zla ’od (Āṣṭa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā­vṛtti-marmakaumudī) [“Moonlight”]. Toh 3805, Degé Tengyur vol. 90 (shes phyin, da), folios 1b–228a.

Abhayākaragupta. thub pa’i dgongs pai rgyan (Muni­matālaṃkāra) [“Intention of the Sage”]. Toh 3903, Degé Tengyur vol. 211 (dbu ma, a), folios 73b–293a.

Anonymous/Daṃṣṭrāsena. shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa ’bum gyi rgya cher ’grel (Śata­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā­bṛhaṭṭīkā) [The Long Commentary on the One Hundred Thousand]. Toh 3807, Degé Tengyur vols. 91–92 (shes phyin, na, pa).

Āryavimuktisena. ’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa’i man ngag gi bstan bcos mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan gyi tshig le’ur byas pa’i rnam par ’grel pa (Ārya­pañca­viṃśati­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitopadeśa­śāstrābhisamayālaṃkāra­kārikā­vārttika) [“Āryavimuktisena’s Commentary”]. Toh 3787, Degé Tengyur vol. 80 (shes phyin, ka), folios 14b–212a.

Asaṅga. theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma’i bstan bcos rnam par bshad pa (Mahā­yānottara­tantra­śāstra­vyākhyā) [The Explanation of The Treatise on the Ultimate Continuum of the Mahāyāna]. Toh 4025, Degé Tengyur vol. 225 (sems tsam, phi), folios 74b1–129a7.

Asaṅga. rnal ’byor spyod pa’i sa (Yogācārabhūmi) [The Levels of Spiritual Practice]. Toh 4035, Degé Tengyur vol. 229 (sems tsam, tshi), folios 1b–283a.

Asaṅga. rnal ’byor spyod pa’i sa las byang chub sems dpa’i sa (Bodhi­sattva­bhūmi) [The Level of a Bodhisattva]. Toh 4037, Degé Tengyur vol. 231 (sems tsam, wi), folios 1b–213a.

Asaṅga. theg pa chen po bsdus pa (Mahā­yāna­saṃgraha) [A Summary of the Great Vehicle]. Toh 4048, Degé Tengyur vol. 236 (sems tsam, ri), folios 1b–43a.

Asvabhāva. theg pa chen po bsdus pa’i bshad sbyar (Mahā­yāna­saṃgrahopanibandhana) [Explanations Connected to A Summary of the Great Vehicle]. Toh 4051, Degé Tengyur vol. 236 (sems tsam, ri), folios 190b–296a.

Bhadanta Vimuktisena (btsun pa grol sde). ’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa’i man ngag gi bstan bcos mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan gyi tshig le’ur byas pa’i rnam par ’grel pa (*Ārya­pañca­viṃśati­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitopadeśa-śāstrābhisamayālaṃkāra­kārikā­vārttika) [A General Commentary on “The Ornament for Clear Realizations,” A Treatise of Personal Instructions on the Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines]. Toh 3788, Degé Tengyur vol. 81 (shes phyin, kha), folios 1b–181a.

Buddhaśrī. shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa sdud pa’i tshig su byas pa’i dka’ ’grel (Prajñā­pāramitā­saṃcaya­gāthā­pañjikā) [A Commentary on the Difficult Points of the “Verses [that Summarize the Perfection of Wisdom]. Toh 3798, Degé Tengyur (shes phyin, nya), folios 116a–189b.

Daśabalaśrīmitra. ’dus byas ’dus ma byas rnam par nges pa (Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛta­viniścaya) [Differentiating Between the Compounded and Uncompounded]. Toh 3897, Degé Tengyur (dbu ma, ha), folios 109a–317a.

Dharmatrāta. ched du brjod pa’i tshoms (Udānavarga) [Chapters of Utterances on Specific Topics]. Toh 4099, Degé Tengyur vol. 250 (mngon pa, tu), folios 1b–45a; Toh 326, Degé Kangyur vol. 72 (mdo sde, sa), folios 209a1–253a7.

Haribhadra. shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa brgyad stong pa’i bshad pa mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan gyi snang ba, (Aṣṭa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā-vyākhyānābhisamayālaṃkārālokā) [“Illumination of the Abhisamayālaṃkāra”]. Toh 3791, Degé Tengyur vol. 85 (shes phyin, cha), folios 1b–341a.

Haribhadra. bcom ldan ’das yon tan rin po che sdud pa’i tshig su byas pa’i dka’ ’grel shes bya ba (Bhagavadratna­guṇa­saṃcaya­gāthā-pañjikānāma/Subodhinī) [A Commentary on the Difficult Points of the “Verses that Summarize the Perfection of Wisdom”]. Toh 3792, Degé Tengyur vol. 86 (shes phyin, ja), folios 1b–78a.

Haribhadra. shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i man ngag gi bstan bcos mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan zhes bya ba’i ’grel pa (Abhi­samayālaṃkāra-nāma-prajñā­pāramitopadeśa­śāstra­vṛtti) [A Running Commentary on “The Ornament for Clear Realizations, A Treatise of Personal Instructions on the Perfection of Wisdom”]. Toh 3793, Degé Tengyur vol. 86 (shes phyin, ja), folios 78b–140a.

Haribhadra. shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa (Pañcaviṃśati­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā) [“Eight Chapters”]. Toh 3790, vols. 82–84 (shes phyin, ga, nga, ca).

Jñānavarja. ’phags pa lang kar gshegs pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo’i ’grel pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i snying po’i rgyan zhes bya ba (Ārya­laṅkāvatāra-nāma-mahā­yāna­sūtra­vṛtti­tathāgata-hṛdayālaṃkāra-nāma) [A Commentary on The Descent into Laṅkā called “The Ornament of the Heart of the Tathāgata”]. Toh 4019, Degé Tengyur (mdo ’grel, pi), folios 1b1–310a7.

Maitreya. shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i man ngag gi bstan bcos mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan zhes bya ba tshig le’ur byas pa (Abhi­samayālaṃkāra-nāma-prajñā­pāramitopadeśa­śāstra­kārikā) [“Ornament for the Clear Realizations”]. Toh 3786, Degé Tengyur (shes phyin, ka), folios 1b–13a.

Maitreya. dbus dang mtha’ rnam par ’byed pa’i tshig le’ur byas pa (Madhyānta­vibhāga) [“Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes”]. Toh 4021, Degé Tengyur vol. 225 (sems tsam, phi), folios 40b–45a.

Maitreya. theg pa chen po mdo sde’i rgyan zhes bya ba’i tshig le’ur byas pa (Mahā­yāna­sūtrālaṃkāra­kārikā) [Ornament for the Mahāyāna Sūtras]. Toh 4020, Degé Tengyur vol. 225 (sems tsam, phi), folios 1b1–39a4.

Maitreya. theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma’i bstan bcos (Mahāyānottara­tantra­śāstra-ratnagotra-vibhāga) [The Treatise on the Ultimate Continuum of the Mahāyāna]. Toh 4024, Degé Tengyur vol. 225 (sems tsam, phi), folios 54b1–73a7.

Mañjuśrīkīrti. ’phags pa chos thams cad kyi rang bzhin mnyam pa nyid rnam par spros pa’i ting nge ’dzin kyi rgyal po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo’i ’grel pa grags pa’i phreng ba (Sarva­dharma­svabhāva­samatāvi­pañcita­samādhi­rāja-nāma-mahā­yāna­sūtra­ṭīkā­kīrti­mālā) [A Commentary on the Mahāyāna Sūtra “The King of Samādhis, the Revealed Equality of the Nature of All Phenomena,” called “The Garland of Renown”] Toh 4010, Degé Tengyur (mdo ’grel, nyi), folios 1b–163b.

Nāgārjuna. dbu ma rtsa ba’i tshig le’ur byas pa shes rab ces bya ba (Prajñā-nāma-mūla­madhyamaka­kārikā) [Fundamental Treatise on the Middle Way called “Wisdom”]. Toh 3824, Degé Tengyur vol. 198 (dbu ma, tsa), folios 1b1–19a6.

Prajñāvarman. ched du brjod pa’i tshoms kyi rnam par ’grel pa (Udāna­varga­vivaraṇa) [An Exposition of “The Categorical Sayings”]. Toh 4100, Degé Tengyur vol. 148–49 (mngon pa, tu, thu), folios 45b–thu 222a.

Pūrṇavardana. chos mngon par chos kyi ’grel bshad mtshan nyid kyi rjes su ’brang ba (Abhi­dharma­kośa­ṭīkā­lakṣaṇānusāriṇī) [An Explanatory Commentary on “The Treasury of Abhidharma” called “Following the Defining Characteristics”]. Toh 4093, Degé Tengyur vols. 144–45 (mngon pa, cu, chu), chu folios 1b–322a.

Ratnākaraśānti. ’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa brgyad stong pa’i dka’ ’grel snying po mchog (Āryāṣṭa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā­pañjikāsārottamā) [“Sāratamā”]. Toh 3803, Degé Tengyur vol. 89 (shes phyin, tha), folios 1b–230a.

Ratnākaraśānti. nam mkha’ dang mnyam pa zhes bya ba’i rgya cher ’grel pa (Khasamā-nāma-ṭīkā) [An Extensive Explanation of the Extant Khasama Tantra]. Toh 1424, Degé Tengyur vol. 21 (rgyud, wa), folios 153a3–171a7.

Ratnākaraśānti. mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan gyi ’grel pa’i tshig le’ur byas pa’i ’grel pa dag ldan (Abhi­samayālaṃkāra­kārikā­vṛitti­śuddha­matī) [A Running Commentary on “The Ornament for Clear Realizations” called “Pristine Intelligence”]. Toh 3801, Degé Tengyur vol. 88 (shes phyin, ta), folios 76a–204a.

Sāgaramegha (rgya mtsho sprin). rnal ’byor spyod pa’i sa las byang chub sems dpa’i sa’i rnam par bshad pa (Bodhi­sattva­bhūmi­vyākhyā) [“An Explanation of The Level of a Bodhisattva”]. Toh 4047, Degé Tengyur vol. 235 (sems tsam, yi), folios 1b–338a.

Śrījagattalanivāsin. bcom ldan ’das ma’i man ngag gi rjes su brang ba zhes bya ba’i rnam par bshad pa (Bhagavatyāmnāyānusāriṇī-nāma-vyākhyā) [An Explanation of “The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines” called “Following the Personal Instructions of the Bhagavatī”]. Toh 3811, Degé Tengyur vol. 94 (shes phyin), folios 1b–320a.

Sthiramati. mdo sde rgyan gyi ’grel bshad (Sūtrālaṃkāra­vṛtti­bhāṣya) [An Explanatory Commentary on the Ornament for the Mahāyāna Sūtras]. Toh 4034, Degé Tengyur vols. 227, 228 (sems tsam, ma, tsi).

Vasubandhu. ’phags pa bcom ldan ’das ma shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa rdo rje gcod pa’i don bdun gyi rgya cher ’grel pa (Ārya­bhagavatī­prajñā­pāramitā­vajracchedikā­saptārtha­ṭīkā) [An Extensive Commentary on the Seven Subjects of “The Perfection of Wisdom, ‘The Diamond Sūtra”]. Toh 3816, Degé Tengyur vol. 95 (shes phyin, ma), folios 178a5–203b7.

Vasubandhu. ’phags pa blo gros mi zad pas bstan pa rgya cher ’grel pa (Akṣaya­mati­nirdeśa­ṭīkā) [An Extensive Commentary on The Teaching of Ākṣayamati]. Toh 3994, Degé Tengyur (mdo ’grel, ci), 1b1–269a7.

Vasubandhu. ’phags pa sa bcu pa’i rnam par bshad pa (Ārya­daśa­bhūmi­vyākhyāna) [Explanation of The Ten Bhūmis]. Toh 3993, Degé Tengyur vol. 215 (mdo sde, ngi), folios 103b–266a.

Vasubandhu. chos mngon pa’i mdzod kyi bshad pa (Abhidharmakośabhāṣya) [Explanation of “The Treasury of Abhidharma”]. Toh 4090, Degé Tengyur, vols. 242, 243 (mngon pa, ku, khu), folios ku 26a1–258a7, khu 1b1–95a7.

Vasubandhu. chos mngon pa’i mdzod kyi tshig le’ur byas pa (Abhi­dharma­kośa­kārikā) [The Treasury of Abhidharma]. Toh 4089, Degé Tengyur, vol. 242 (mngon pa, ku), folios 1b1–25a7.

Vasubandhu. dbus dang mtha’ rnam par ’byed pa’i ’grel pa (Madhyānta­vibhāga­bhāṣya) [An Extensive Commentary on Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes]. Toh 4027, Degé Tengyur vol. 226 (sems tsam, bi), folios 1b1–27a7.

Vasubandhu. shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa rdo rje gcod pa bshad pa’i bshad sbyar gyi tshig le’ur byas pa (Vajracchedikāyāḥ prajñāpāramitāyā vyākhyānopanibandhana­kārikā) [“Verse Explanation of the Diamond Sūtra”]. Peking Tengyur 5864, vol. 146 (ngo mtshar bstan bcos, nyo), folios 1b1–5b1.

Vasubandhu. mdo sde’i rgyan gyi bshad pa (Sūtrālaṃkāra­vyākhyā) [An Explanation of The Ornament for the Mahāyāna Sūtras]. Toh 4026, Degé Tengyur vol. 225 (sems tsam, phi), folios 129b–260a.

Vasubandhu. ’phags pa blo gros mi zad pas bstan pa rgya cher ’grel pa (Akṣaya­mati­nirdeśaṭīkā) [An Extensive Commentary on The Teaching of Ākṣayamati]. Toh 3994, Degé Tengyur (mdo ’grel, ci), folios 1b–269a.

Indigenous Tibetan Works

Ar Changchup Yeshé (ar byang chub ye shes). mngon rtogs rgyan gyi ’grel pa rnam ’byed [Disentanglement of Haribhadra’s “Exposition of Maitreya’s ‘Ornament for the Clear Realizations’ ”]. Ar byang chub ye shes kyi gsung chos skor, Bka’ gdams dpe dkon gches btus, 2. Edited by Dpal brtsegs bod yig dpe rnying zhib ’jug khang. Pe cin: krung go’i bod rig pa’i dpe skrun khang, 2006.

Bodong Tsöntru Dorjé (bo dong brtson ’grus rdo rje). shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i man ngag gi bstan bcos mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan gyi ’grel bshad shes rab mchog gi rgyan (stod cha) [Ornament for the Supreme Wisdom]. ’Phags yul rgyan drug mchog gnyis kyi zhal lung, vol. 11, pp. 22–565.

Butön (bu ston rin chen grub). bde bar gshegs pa’i bstan pa’i gsal byed chos kyi ’byung gnas gsung rab rin po che’i mdzod / chos ’byung chen mo [History of Buddhism]. Zhol phar khang gsung ’bum, vol. ya (26), folios 1b–212a.

Chim Namkha Drak (mchims nam mkha’ grags). shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i stong phrag brgya pa gzhung gi don rnam par ’byed pa’i bshad pa [Summary Explanation of the One Hundred Thousand]. ’Phags yul rgyan drug mchog gnyis kyi zhal lung, vol. 8, pp. 217–468.

Chomden Rikpé Reltri (bcom ldan rigs pa’i ral gri). shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i ’grel bshad mngon par rtogs pa rgyan gyi me tog [Flower Ornament for the Clear Realizations]. gsung ’bum, Kamtrul Sonam Dondrub typeset edition, ga, folios 1-389b [3-780].

Chomden Rikpé Reltri (bcom ldan rigs pa’i ral gri). sha ta sa ha sRi ka pRadznyA pA ra mi ta a laM ka ra pushpe nA ma bi dza ha raM / shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phra brgya pa rgyan gyi me tog [Flower Ornament for the One Hundred Thousand]. gsung ’bum, Kamtrul Sonam Dondrub typeset edition, ca, folios 1-26b [565-617].

Chomden Rikpé Reltri (bcom ldan rigs pa’i ral gri). bstan pa rgyas pa rgyan gyi nyi ’od [An Early Survey of Buddhist Literature]. gsung ’bum, Kamtrul Sonam Dondrub typeset edition, ca, 1-81b [99-260].

Chomden Rikpé Reltri (bcom ldan rigs pa’i ral gri). byams pa dang ’brel ba’i chos kyi byung tshul [Historical Evolution of the Works of Maitreya]. gsung ’bum, Kamtrul Sonam Dondrub typeset edition, ca, 1-6a [43-56].

Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos kyi ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.

Dolpopa (dol po pa shes rab rgyal mtshan). shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa khri brgyad stong pa’i mchan bu zur du bkod pa (stod cha) [“Notes to the Eight Thousand”]. ’dzam thang gsum ’bum, ma, pp. 5.3–134. Available online at BDRC.

Dolpopa (dol po pa shes rab rgyal mtshan). ’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi su lnga pa’i bshad pa [Explanation of the Twenty-Five Thousand Perfection of Wisdom]. Jo nang kun mkhyen dol po pa shes rab rgyal mtshan gyi gsung ’bum (glog klad ma gsungs ’bum), vol. 6, 1–279. Edited by dpal brtsegs bod yig dpe rnying zhib ’jug khang. Pe cin: krung go’i bod rig pa’i dpe skrun khang, 2011.

Jamsar Shérap Wozer (’jam gsar ba shes rab ’od zer). mngon rtogs rgyan gyi ’grel bshad ’thad pa’i ’od ’bar [Blaze of What is Tenable]. ’Phags yul rgyan drug mchog gnyis kyi zhal lung, vol. 9, pp. 22–458.

Luyi Gyeltsen (Degé Tengyur: klu’i rgyal mtshan; Toh: byang chub rdzu ’phrul). phags pa dgongs pa nges par ’grel pa’i mdo’i rnam par bshad pa (Ārya­saṃdhi­nirmocana­sūtra­vyākhyāna) [Explanation of the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra]. Toh 4358, Degé Tengyur vol. 205 (sna tshogs, cho, jo), folios 1b1–293a7; 1b1–183b7.

Pema Karpo (kun mkhyen pad ma dkar po). mngon par rtogs pa rgyan gyi ’grel pa rje btsun byams pa’i zhal lung [“Words of Maitreya”]. Collected Works (gsuṅ-’bum) of Kun-Mkhyen Padma-Dkar-Po. Darjeeling: Kargyud Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1973–1974. Vol. 8, pp. 1–340.

Phangthangma (dkar chag ’phang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.

Rongtön (rong ston shes bya kun rig). sher phyin stong phrag brgya pa’i rnam ’grel. In gsung ’bum, 4:380–678. khren tu’u: si khron dpe skrun tshogs pa. si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2008.

Serdok Shakya Chokden (gser mdog paṇ chen shākya mchog ldan). shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i man ngag gi bstan bcos mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan ’grel pa dang bcas pa’i snga phyi’i ’brel rnam par btsal zhing / dngos bstan kyi dka’ ba’i gnas la legs par bshad pa’i dpung tshogs rnam par bkod pa/ bzhed tshul rba rlabs kyi phreng ba [“Garland of Waves”]. Complete Works, vol. 11. Thimphu, 1975.

Tsongkhapa (tsong kha pa blo bzang grags pa). shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i man ngag gi bstan bcos mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan ’grel pa dang bcas pa’i rgya cher bshad pa legs bshad gser gyi phreng ba [Golden Garland of Eloquence: Long Explanation of the Perfection of Wisdom]. Zi ling: tsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1986. The page numbers are the same as vols. tsa and tsha in the mtsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang gsung ’bum, 11: 11–519. zi ling: mtsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1999.

Upa Losal Sangyé Bum (dbus pa blo gsal sangs rgyas ’bum). pa). bstan ’gyur dkar chag [Catalog of the Early Narthang Tengyur]. Scans from gnas bcu lha khang, on BDRC (MW2CZ7507).

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Law, B. C. Historical Geography of Ancient India. Paris: Société Asiatique de Paris, 1954.

Lévi, Sylvain. Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra, exposé de la doctrine du grand véhicule selon le système Yogācāra. 2 vols. Paris: Bibliothèque de l’École des Hautes Études, 1907; reprint, vol. 1, Shanghai, China, 1940.

Jaini, P. S. Sāratamā: A Pañjikā on the Abhisamayālaṃkāra by Ācārya Ratnākaraśānti, Tibetan Sanskrit Works Series 18. Patna: Kashi Prasad Jayaswal Research Institute, 1972.

Malalasekera. G. P. Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names. Vols. i and ii. London: John Murray, 1937–38.

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McKlintock, Sarah. “Omniscience and the Rhetoric of Reason in the Tattvasaṃgraha and the Tattva­saṃgraha­pañjikā.” Unpublished PhD diss. Harvard University, 2002.

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Monier-Williams, Monier. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1899.

Nattier, Jan. Once Upon a Future Time: Studies in a Buddhist Prophecy of Decline. Berkeley, CA: Asian Humanities Press, 1999.

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g.

Glossary

Types of attestation for names and terms of the corresponding source language

AS

Attested in source text

This term is attested in a manuscript used as a source for this translation.

AO

Attested in other text

This term is attested in other manuscripts with a parallel or similar context.

AD

Attested in dictionary

This term is attested in dictionaries matching Tibetan to the corresponding language.

AA

Approximate attestation

The attestation of this name is approximate. It is based on other names where the relationship between the Tibetan and source language is attested in dictionaries or other manuscripts.

RP

Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering

This term is a reconstruction based on the Tibetan phonetic rendering of the term.

RS

Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering

This term is a reconstruction based on the semantics of the Tibetan translation.

SU

Source unspecified

This term has been supplied from an unspecified source, which most often is a widely trusted dictionary.

g.­1

absorption

Wylie:
  • snyoms par ’jug pa
Tibetan:
  • སྙོམས་པར་འཇུག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • samāpatti

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Sanskrit literally means “attainment,” and is used to refer specifically to meditative attainment and to particular meditative states. The Tibetan translators interpreted it as sama-āpatti, which suggests the idea of “equal” or “level”; however, they also parsed it as sam-āpatti, in which case it would have the sense of “concentration” or “absorption,” much like samādhi, but with the added sense of “attainment.”

Located in 54 passages in the translation:

  • i.­108
  • 1.­7-8
  • 1.­15-16
  • 1.­30
  • 1.­36
  • 1.­38
  • 1.­45
  • 1.­69
  • 1.­149
  • 1.­151
  • 4.­23
  • 4.­171
  • 4.­339-340
  • 4.­379
  • 4.­499
  • 4.­564
  • 4.­628-629
  • 4.­638
  • 4.­787
  • 4.­838
  • 4.­874
  • 4.­939-945
  • 4.­992-994
  • 4.­996
  • 4.­1016
  • 4.­1019
  • 4.­1027
  • 4.­1130
  • 5.­67
  • 5.­235
  • 5.­634
  • 5.­659
  • 5.­978-979
  • 5.­1235
  • 5.­1252
  • n.­703
  • n.­740
  • n.­917
  • n.­1224
  • g.­140
  • g.­342
g.­2

Acalā

Wylie:
  • mi g.yo ba
Tibetan:
  • མི་གཡོ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • acalā

Lit. “Immovable.” The eighth level of accomplishment pertaining to bodhisattvas. See “ten bodhisattva levels.”

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­87
  • g.­339
g.­3

affliction

Wylie:
  • nyon mongs pa
Tibetan:
  • ཉོན་མོངས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • kleśa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The essentially pure nature of mind is obscured and afflicted by various psychological defilements, which destroy the mind’s peace and composure and lead to unwholesome deeds of body, speech, and mind, acting as causes for continued existence in saṃsāra. Included among them are the primary afflictions of desire (rāga), anger (dveṣa), and ignorance (avidyā). It is said that there are eighty-four thousand of these negative mental qualities, for which the eighty-four thousand categories of the Buddha’s teachings serve as the antidote.

Kleśa is also commonly translated as “negative emotions,” “disturbing emotions,” and so on. The Pāli kilesa, Middle Indic kileśa, and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit kleśa all primarily mean “stain” or “defilement.” The translation “affliction” is a secondary development that derives from the more general (non-Buddhist) classical understanding of √kliś (“to harm,“ “to afflict”). Both meanings are noted by Buddhist commentators.

In this text:

Also rendered here as afflictive emotion.

Located in 100 passages in the translation:

  • i.­64
  • 1.­21-22
  • 1.­24-25
  • 1.­27-30
  • 1.­34
  • 1.­39
  • 1.­63
  • 1.­69
  • 1.­79
  • 1.­82
  • 1.­88
  • 1.­96
  • 1.­124
  • 1.­186-188
  • 1.­204-205
  • 1.­208-209
  • 1.­211-214
  • 1.­220
  • 1.­226
  • 3.­10
  • 4.­8
  • 4.­47
  • 4.­76
  • 4.­80
  • 4.­120
  • 4.­179
  • 4.­336
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­576-577
  • 4.­757
  • 4.­783
  • 4.­885
  • 4.­890
  • 4.­893
  • 4.­897
  • 4.­910
  • 4.­969
  • 4.­976
  • 4.­985
  • 4.­1008
  • 4.­1017
  • 4.­1024
  • 4.­1027
  • 4.­1031
  • 4.­1049
  • 4.­1051
  • 4.­1056
  • 4.­1078
  • 4.­1185
  • 5.­20
  • 5.­32
  • 5.­80
  • 5.­193
  • 5.­283
  • 5.­309
  • 5.­311
  • 5.­365
  • 5.­369
  • 5.­529
  • 5.­769-770
  • 5.­1146-1147
  • 5.­1152
  • 5.­1248
  • 5.­1252
  • 6.­92-94
  • 6.­98
  • 6.­102
  • n.­50
  • n.­58
  • n.­94
  • n.­107
  • n.­277
  • n.­291
  • n.­295
  • n.­564-565
  • n.­1026
  • n.­1241
  • n.­1525
  • n.­1564
  • g.­114
  • g.­180
  • g.­342
g.­4

aggregates

Wylie:
  • phung po
Tibetan:
  • ཕུང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • skandha

Lit. a “heap” or “pile.” The five aggregates of form, feeling, perception, volitional factors, and consciousness. On the individual level the five aggregates refer to the basis upon which the mistaken idea of a self is projected.

However, in this text, five pure or uncontaminated aggregates are also listed, namely: the aggregate of morality, the aggregate of meditative stabilization, the aggregate of wisdom, the aggregate of liberation, and the aggregate of knowledge and seeing of liberation.

Located in 79 passages in the translation:

  • i.­52
  • i.­70-71
  • 1.­4
  • 1.­21-22
  • 1.­24-25
  • 1.­27
  • 1.­34
  • 1.­66
  • 1.­91
  • 4.­45-46
  • 4.­91
  • 4.­104
  • 4.­139-140
  • 4.­162
  • 4.­192
  • 4.­214
  • 4.­259
  • 4.­421
  • 4.­451
  • 4.­455-456
  • 4.­460
  • 4.­471-472
  • 4.­476
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­532-533
  • 4.­640
  • 4.­664
  • 4.­680
  • 4.­697
  • 4.­702
  • 4.­709
  • 4.­720
  • 4.­732
  • 4.­838
  • 4.­876
  • 4.­1078
  • 4.­1183
  • 4.­1217
  • 4.­1347
  • 5.­207
  • 5.­246
  • 5.­304
  • 5.­306
  • 5.­392
  • 5.­464-465
  • 5.­489
  • 5.­544
  • 5.­1031
  • 5.­1453
  • 5.­1476
  • 5.­1491
  • 6.­13
  • 6.­73
  • n.­50
  • n.­60
  • n.­120
  • n.­392
  • n.­404
  • n.­419
  • n.­527
  • n.­649
  • n.­1042
  • n.­1067
  • n.­1215
  • n.­1330
  • n.­1662
  • n.­1760
  • n.­1895
  • g.­112
  • g.­290
g.­7

annihilation

Wylie:
  • chad pa
Tibetan:
  • ཆད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • uccheda

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The extreme philosophical view that rejects rebirth and the law of karma by considering that causes (and thus actions) do not have effects and that the self, being the same as one or all of the aggregates (skandhas), ends at death. Commonly translated as “nihilism” or, more literally, as “view of annihilation.” It is often mentioned along with its opposite view, the extreme of eternalism or permanence.

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­303
  • 4.­627
  • 4.­651
  • 4.­709
  • 4.­798
  • 4.­1117
  • 4.­1180
  • 5.­125
  • 5.­328
  • 5.­495
  • 5.­558
  • 5.­1231
  • 5.­1241
  • n.­720
g.­8

applications of mindfulness

Wylie:
  • dran pa nye bar gzhag pa
Tibetan:
  • དྲན་པ་ཉེ་བར་གཞག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • smṛtyupasthāna

See “four applications of mindfulness.”

Located in 20 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­4
  • 1.­91
  • 4.­31-33
  • 4.­431
  • 4.­621
  • 4.­762
  • 4.­787
  • 4.­818
  • 4.­987
  • 4.­1217
  • 4.­1230
  • 5.­306
  • 5.­1271
  • 5.­1411
  • 5.­1491
  • n.­82
  • n.­1042
  • n.­1760
g.­9

applied thought

Wylie:
  • rtog pa
Tibetan:
  • རྟོག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • vitarka

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­8
  • 4.­911
  • 4.­922
  • 4.­925
  • 4.­927
  • 4.­992
  • 5.­458
  • n.­747
g.­10

apprehend

Wylie:
  • dmigs
Tibetan:
  • དམིགས།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

dmigs (pa) translates a number of Sanskrit terms, including ālambana, upalabdhi, and ālambate. These terms commonly refer to the apprehending of a subject, an object, and the relationships that exist between them. The term may also be translated as “referentiality,” meaning a system based on the existence of referent objects, referent subjects, and the referential relationships that exist between them. As part of their doctrine of “threefold nonapprehending/nonreferentiality” (’khor gsum mi dmigs pa), Mahāyāna Buddhists famously assert that all three categories of apprehending lack substantiality.

Located in 301 passages in the translation:

  • i.­52
  • i.­68
  • i.­72
  • i.­91
  • i.­98
  • i.­112
  • i.­114
  • i.­118
  • 1.­95-96
  • 1.­111-112
  • 1.­114
  • 1.­116-117
  • 1.­119
  • 2.­13
  • 4.­14
  • 4.­17-19
  • 4.­24
  • 4.­31
  • 4.­33
  • 4.­35
  • 4.­79
  • 4.­109
  • 4.­126-127
  • 4.­139
  • 4.­156-157
  • 4.­170
  • 4.­191
  • 4.­220
  • 4.­222-224
  • 4.­261
  • 4.­288
  • 4.­292
  • 4.­300-301
  • 4.­309
  • 4.­318
  • 4.­320
  • 4.­322
  • 4.­353
  • 4.­363
  • 4.­373
  • 4.­376
  • 4.­380
  • 4.­382-383
  • 4.­407-408
  • 4.­413-414
  • 4.­418
  • 4.­455
  • 4.­457-458
  • 4.­461-463
  • 4.­468-469
  • 4.­471
  • 4.­490
  • 4.­503-504
  • 4.­507
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­532
  • 4.­568
  • 4.­574
  • 4.­580-581
  • 4.­583
  • 4.­601
  • 4.­616-617
  • 4.­619
  • 4.­636
  • 4.­640
  • 4.­642-643
  • 4.­660-661
  • 4.­670
  • 4.­678
  • 4.­682
  • 4.­685-686
  • 4.­688
  • 4.­690-691
  • 4.­693
  • 4.­696-697
  • 4.­733
  • 4.­750
  • 4.­754
  • 4.­769
  • 4.­771
  • 4.­780
  • 4.­805
  • 4.­902-904
  • 4.­914
  • 4.­917
  • 4.­942-944
  • 4.­967
  • 4.­1065
  • 4.­1116
  • 4.­1163-1166
  • 4.­1174
  • 4.­1191
  • 4.­1214
  • 4.­1218
  • 4.­1224-1225
  • 4.­1227-1229
  • 4.­1235-1237
  • 4.­1239
  • 4.­1244
  • 4.­1248
  • 4.­1316
  • 4.­1343
  • 5.­112-114
  • 5.­120
  • 5.­122-123
  • 5.­155-156
  • 5.­161
  • 5.­173
  • 5.­203
  • 5.­207
  • 5.­239
  • 5.­262-263
  • 5.­266-267
  • 5.­270
  • 5.­316
  • 5.­320
  • 5.­332-333
  • 5.­335
  • 5.­349
  • 5.­351
  • 5.­360
  • 5.­362
  • 5.­365
  • 5.­380
  • 5.­387-388
  • 5.­399-401
  • 5.­403
  • 5.­407
  • 5.­411
  • 5.­414-418
  • 5.­427
  • 5.­459
  • 5.­464
  • 5.­466
  • 5.­524-525
  • 5.­536
  • 5.­564
  • 5.­589-590
  • 5.­592
  • 5.­613
  • 5.­615
  • 5.­619
  • 5.­624
  • 5.­676-677
  • 5.­750
  • 5.­752-753
  • 5.­756
  • 5.­771-772
  • 5.­778
  • 5.­808
  • 5.­829-831
  • 5.­849
  • 5.­867
  • 5.­900-902
  • 5.­917
  • 5.­938
  • 5.­945
  • 5.­973
  • 5.­979-980
  • 5.­982
  • 5.­995-996
  • 5.­998
  • 5.­1005
  • 5.­1033
  • 5.­1039
  • 5.­1049
  • 5.­1054-1055
  • 5.­1061
  • 5.­1065
  • 5.­1067-1069
  • 5.­1076-1077
  • 5.­1094
  • 5.­1111
  • 5.­1113
  • 5.­1118
  • 5.­1123
  • 5.­1125-1126
  • 5.­1130
  • 5.­1155
  • 5.­1164
  • 5.­1176-1177
  • 5.­1214
  • 5.­1216
  • 5.­1235
  • 5.­1237
  • 5.­1241-1242
  • 5.­1349
  • 5.­1382
  • 5.­1399-1400
  • 5.­1407
  • 5.­1476-1477
  • 6.­5
  • 6.­14
  • 6.­16
  • 6.­25
  • 6.­29-32
  • 6.­36
  • n.­265
  • n.­334
  • n.­404
  • n.­563
  • n.­634
  • n.­755
  • n.­816
  • n.­833
  • n.­933
  • n.­1000
  • n.­1006
  • n.­1008
  • n.­1029
  • n.­1065
  • n.­1283
  • n.­1322
  • n.­1334
  • n.­1410
  • n.­1516
  • n.­1539
  • n.­1552
  • n.­1562
  • n.­1679
  • n.­1682
  • n.­1764
  • n.­1823
  • n.­1828
  • n.­1896
  • n.­1924
  • n.­1941
g.­11

appropriation

Wylie:
  • len pa
Tibetan:
  • ལེན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • upādāna

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

This term, although commonly translated as “appropriation,” also means “grasping” or “clinging,” but it has a particular meaning as the ninth of the twelve links of dependent origination, situated between craving (tṛṣṇā, sred pa) and becoming or existence (bhava, srid pa). In some texts, four types of appropriation (upādāna) are listed: that of desire (rāga), view (dṛṣṭi), rules and observances as paramount (śīla­vrata­parāmarśa), and belief in a self (ātmavāda).

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­23
  • 1.­218
  • 5.­1415
  • 6.­73
  • 6.­76-77
  • 6.­83
  • n.­52
  • n.­56
  • n.­1887
  • g.­112
g.­14

as it really is

Wylie:
  • ji lta ba bzhin du
  • ji lta ba’i bdag nyid
  • bdag nyid ji lta ba
Tibetan:
  • ཇི་ལྟ་བ་བཞིན་དུ།
  • ཇི་ལྟ་བའི་བདག་ཉིད།
  • བདག་ཉིད་ཇི་ལྟ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • yathābhūtam
  • yathātmyam

The quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms. Akin to other terms rendered here as “suchness,” “the real,” and so on.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­126-127
  • 4.­119
  • 5.­273
  • 5.­469-470
  • 5.­509
  • n.­319
g.­16

Asaṅga

Wylie:
  • thogs med
Tibetan:
  • ཐོགས་མེད།
Sanskrit:
  • asaṅga

Indian commentator from the late fourth– early fifth centuries; closely associated with the works of Maitreya and the Yogācāra philosophical school.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­15
  • i.­30
  • i.­44
  • n.­221
  • n.­224
  • n.­226
  • n.­966
g.­17

Aṣṭamaka level

Wylie:
  • brgyad pa’i sa
Tibetan:
  • བརྒྱད་པའི་ས།
Sanskrit:
  • aṣṭamakabhūmi

Lit. “Eighth level,” sometimes rendered “Eighth Lowest.” The third of the ten levels traversed by all practitioners, from the level of an ordinary person until reaching buddhahood. See “ten levels.”

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­1135
  • 5.­809
  • 5.­957
  • n.­832
  • g.­340
g.­18

asura

Wylie:
  • lha ma yin
Tibetan:
  • ལྷ་མ་ཡིན།
Sanskrit:
  • asura
  • dānava

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A type of nonhuman being whose precise status is subject to different views, but is included as one of the six classes of beings in the sixfold classification of realms of rebirth. In the Buddhist context, asuras are powerful beings said to be dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility. They are also known in the pre-Buddhist and pre-Vedic mythologies of India and Iran, and feature prominently in Vedic and post-Vedic Brahmanical mythology, as well as in the Buddhist tradition. In these traditions, asuras are often described as being engaged in interminable conflict with the devas (gods).

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­72-73
  • 1.­187
  • 4.­678
  • 4.­1009
  • 4.­1169
  • 4.­1174
  • 4.­1182
  • 5.­146
  • n.­190
  • n.­738
g.­19

Avīci

Wylie:
  • mnar med
Tibetan:
  • མནར་མེད།
Sanskrit:
  • avīci

The lowest and most severe among the eight hot hell realms. It is characterized as endless not only in terms of the torment undergone there, but also because of the ceaseless chain of actions and effects experienced, the long lifespan of its denizens, and their being so intensely crowded together that there is no physical space between them.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­1014
g.­20

basic nature

Wylie:
  • rang bzhin
Tibetan:
  • རང་བཞིན།
Sanskrit:
  • svabhāva

See “intrinsic nature.”

Located in 51 passages in the translation:

  • i.­74
  • 1.­44
  • 1.­123
  • 4.­144
  • 4.­149
  • 4.­213
  • 4.­279-280
  • 4.­487-488
  • 4.­562
  • 4.­570
  • 4.­596
  • 4.­790
  • 4.­795
  • 4.­802
  • 4.­813
  • 4.­1216
  • 4.­1259
  • 4.­1275-1276
  • 4.­1343
  • 5.­243
  • 5.­273
  • 5.­313
  • 5.­341
  • 5.­344
  • 5.­346
  • 5.­353
  • 5.­416
  • 5.­454
  • 5.­464
  • 5.­588
  • 5.­671
  • 5.­870
  • 5.­922
  • 5.­1150
  • 5.­1160
  • 5.­1213
  • 5.­1356
  • 5.­1383
  • 5.­1386
  • 5.­1399-1402
  • 5.­1422
  • n.­744
  • n.­752
  • n.­844
  • n.­989
g.­21

basis of meritorious action

Wylie:
  • bsod nams bya ba’i dngos po
  • bsod nams bgyi ba’i dngos po
Tibetan:
  • བསོད་ནམས་བྱ་བའི་དངོས་པོ།
  • བསོད་ནམས་བགྱི་བའི་དངོས་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • puṇya­kriyā­vastu

The meaning of this term is made clear in chapter 33, when the value of a bodhisattva practicing the perfection of wisdom is compared with other meritorious acts; cf. Mppś 2248, Mppś English p. 1858.

As an example: a gold coin is a “basis.” Given into the hand of a pauper (the “action”) it becomes a basis for action that makes merit (puṇya­kriyā­vastu). It becomes that because of the giver’s aim‍—stopping the pauper’s hunger. The same gold coin (the basis, Skt vastu), remaining in a person’s pocket, remains a basis as the term is used in the fundamental Buddhist scriptures‍—a place (vastu) where the renunciant is to avoid attachment, but not a basis of meritorious action (puṇya­kriyā­vastu). The bsod nams bya ba (puṇyakriyā), “meritorious action” or work that produces merit, makes the basis into something (the basis) that now is achieving the aim.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • i.­100
  • 4.­301
  • 5.­205-207
  • 5.­213
  • 5.­215
  • 5.­238
g.­22

beings in hell

Wylie:
  • sems can dmyal ba
Tibetan:
  • སེམས་ཅན་དམྱལ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • naraka

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the five or six classes of sentient beings. Birth in hell is considered to be the karmic fruition of past anger and harmful actions. According to Buddhist tradition there are eighteen different hells, namely eight hot hells and eight cold hells, as well as neighboring and ephemeral hells, all of them tormented by increasing levels of unimaginable suffering.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­76
  • 1.­187
  • 4.­1009
  • 5.­900
  • 5.­908
g.­23

bodhisattva

Wylie:
  • byang chub sems dpa’
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ།
Sanskrit:
  • bodhisattva

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A being who is dedicated to the cultivation and fulfilment of the altruistic intention to attain perfect buddhahood, traversing the ten bodhisattva levels (daśabhūmi, sa bcu). Bodhisattvas purposely opt to remain within cyclic existence in order to liberate all sentient beings, instead of simply seeking personal freedom from suffering. In terms of the view, they realize both the selflessness of persons and the selflessness of phenomena.

Located in 892 passages in the translation:

  • i.­49
  • i.­52
  • i.­54-59
  • i.­61
  • i.­64-66
  • i.­68-72
  • i.­82
  • i.­93
  • i.­95
  • i.­100-103
  • i.­105-106
  • i.­108
  • i.­111
  • i.­117-119
  • 1.­3
  • 1.­6
  • 1.­12
  • 1.­18
  • 1.­41-49
  • 1.­52-53
  • 1.­56-57
  • 1.­70
  • 1.­72-75
  • 1.­77
  • 1.­79-82
  • 1.­86-88
  • 1.­92
  • 1.­95
  • 1.­97-98
  • 1.­101
  • 1.­103-104
  • 1.­106
  • 1.­109-110
  • 1.­123
  • 1.­125
  • 1.­127
  • 1.­135
  • 1.­139
  • 1.­146
  • 1.­156
  • 1.­161
  • 1.­170
  • 1.­180-181
  • 1.­183
  • 1.­185
  • 1.­191
  • 1.­193-194
  • 1.­200-201
  • 1.­203-204
  • 1.­208
  • 1.­210-211
  • 1.­213-214
  • 1.­216
  • 1.­218
  • 1.­222
  • 1.­226
  • 1.­228
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­3-14
  • 2.­16
  • 3.­1-5
  • 3.­12
  • 3.­19
  • 4.­1-2
  • 4.­4-5
  • 4.­8
  • 4.­12-13
  • 4.­15
  • 4.­18
  • 4.­20
  • 4.­22-23
  • 4.­25-29
  • 4.­31-32
  • 4.­36
  • 4.­40-41
  • 4.­47-48
  • 4.­50-55
  • 4.­61
  • 4.­63
  • 4.­66-68
  • 4.­70
  • 4.­74
  • 4.­81-84
  • 4.­88-93
  • 4.­96
  • 4.­103-105
  • 4.­115
  • 4.­118
  • 4.­120
  • 4.­126
  • 4.­128-130
  • 4.­135
  • 4.­139-140
  • 4.­144-147
  • 4.­150
  • 4.­156
  • 4.­158
  • 4.­168
  • 4.­172
  • 4.­179-180
  • 4.­183-191
  • 4.­193-201
  • 4.­204
  • 4.­212
  • 4.­218-219
  • 4.­221
  • 4.­224
  • 4.­226-227
  • 4.­234
  • 4.­241
  • 4.­244
  • 4.­247-248
  • 4.­251-252
  • 4.­257-258
  • 4.­301
  • 4.­308-310
  • 4.­316
  • 4.­319
  • 4.­321
  • 4.­324
  • 4.­327
  • 4.­337
  • 4.­341-343
  • 4.­370-378
  • 4.­380-381
  • 4.­386
  • 4.­394
  • 4.­400-404
  • 4.­406-417
  • 4.­421-422
  • 4.­424
  • 4.­428
  • 4.­431-432
  • 4.­434
  • 4.­436-453
  • 4.­455-457
  • 4.­459-464
  • 4.­468
  • 4.­471
  • 4.­474
  • 4.­476
  • 4.­486
  • 4.­500
  • 4.­502-503
  • 4.­507
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­532
  • 4.­534-536
  • 4.­538-539
  • 4.­555
  • 4.­557
  • 4.­562
  • 4.­568
  • 4.­572
  • 4.­576-577
  • 4.­587
  • 4.­590
  • 4.­594-595
  • 4.­607
  • 4.­609
  • 4.­611-612
  • 4.­614
  • 4.­616
  • 4.­622
  • 4.­625
  • 4.­629-630
  • 4.­632
  • 4.­644
  • 4.­661
  • 4.­664-666
  • 4.­668
  • 4.­670-671
  • 4.­673
  • 4.­675
  • 4.­677-678
  • 4.­680-681
  • 4.­683-685
  • 4.­687
  • 4.­689
  • 4.­691-693
  • 4.­696-702
  • 4.­707-708
  • 4.­710
  • 4.­713
  • 4.­725
  • 4.­728
  • 4.­745
  • 4.­756
  • 4.­758
  • 4.­760-762
  • 4.­769-772
  • 4.­774
  • 4.­777-778
  • 4.­786
  • 4.­816
  • 4.­818
  • 4.­839
  • 4.­887
  • 4.­910
  • 4.­971
  • 4.­989
  • 4.­1011
  • 4.­1033
  • 4.­1035
  • 4.­1041
  • 4.­1092
  • 4.­1094-1095
  • 4.­1111
  • 4.­1130
  • 4.­1212
  • 4.­1220
  • 4.­1222-1223
  • 4.­1230-1231
  • 4.­1233
  • 4.­1235-1241
  • 4.­1244-1246
  • 4.­1248-1249
  • 4.­1251-1252
  • 4.­1255
  • 4.­1257
  • 4.­1259
  • 4.­1278
  • 4.­1294
  • 4.­1296-1298
  • 4.­1313
  • 4.­1316
  • 4.­1363
  • 5.­6-7
  • 5.­10-12
  • 5.­41
  • 5.­47
  • 5.­49
  • 5.­60
  • 5.­68
  • 5.­87-88
  • 5.­90
  • 5.­96
  • 5.­99
  • 5.­105
  • 5.­130-132
  • 5.­138
  • 5.­143
  • 5.­205-207
  • 5.­209-212
  • 5.­218-219
  • 5.­221-222
  • 5.­226
  • 5.­228
  • 5.­230-231
  • 5.­237
  • 5.­240-241
  • 5.­272
  • 5.­279
  • 5.­294
  • 5.­329-332
  • 5.­337
  • 5.­339
  • 5.­369
  • 5.­376
  • 5.­419-420
  • 5.­425-426
  • 5.­443
  • 5.­529
  • 5.­531-532
  • 5.­537
  • 5.­539
  • 5.­542
  • 5.­549
  • 5.­565
  • 5.­569-570
  • 5.­576
  • 5.­612
  • 5.­615
  • 5.­623-627
  • 5.­633-634
  • 5.­638
  • 5.­644
  • 5.­657-662
  • 5.­665-666
  • 5.­668-671
  • 5.­675
  • 5.­679-680
  • 5.­710-711
  • 5.­713
  • 5.­719
  • 5.­721
  • 5.­723-725
  • 5.­728
  • 5.­733-734
  • 5.­736-737
  • 5.­740
  • 5.­743
  • 5.­745
  • 5.­751-754
  • 5.­763
  • 5.­767
  • 5.­773
  • 5.­780
  • 5.­783
  • 5.­786-787
  • 5.­791
  • 5.­794
  • 5.­797-798
  • 5.­800-804
  • 5.­807-811
  • 5.­813
  • 5.­816-817
  • 5.­821
  • 5.­828
  • 5.­830
  • 5.­835-836
  • 5.­839
  • 5.­842
  • 5.­845-849
  • 5.­854
  • 5.­856
  • 5.­858-859
  • 5.­861
  • 5.­863-867
  • 5.­869
  • 5.­871-873
  • 5.­875-878
  • 5.­880
  • 5.­884-887
  • 5.­889-893
  • 5.­895-896
  • 5.­898
  • 5.­903
  • 5.­905
  • 5.­912
  • 5.­922
  • 5.­930
  • 5.­938-942
  • 5.­953-954
  • 5.­979-981
  • 5.­984
  • 5.­990-993
  • 5.­998
  • 5.­1000
  • 5.­1002
  • 5.­1007-1009
  • 5.­1014-1015
  • 5.­1017
  • 5.­1021
  • 5.­1023
  • 5.­1025
  • 5.­1033-1034
  • 5.­1038
  • 5.­1040-1041
  • 5.­1044
  • 5.­1054-1055
  • 5.­1060
  • 5.­1062
  • 5.­1066-1067
  • 5.­1069
  • 5.­1072
  • 5.­1084
  • 5.­1086-1088
  • 5.­1091
  • 5.­1095
  • 5.­1118-1119
  • 5.­1123
  • 5.­1125-1127
  • 5.­1134
  • 5.­1140-1141
  • 5.­1143
  • 5.­1148
  • 5.­1159
  • 5.­1164-1165
  • 5.­1173
  • 5.­1175
  • 5.­1177-1179
  • 5.­1181
  • 5.­1214
  • 5.­1219
  • 5.­1225
  • 5.­1235
  • 5.­1237-1238
  • 5.­1245
  • 5.­1273
  • 5.­1342
  • 5.­1349
  • 5.­1360
  • 5.­1362
  • 5.­1381
  • 5.­1383-1384
  • 5.­1393-1394
  • 5.­1397
  • 5.­1399-1400
  • 5.­1405
  • 5.­1414
  • 5.­1418-1420
  • 5.­1425
  • 5.­1431
  • 5.­1433
  • 5.­1439-1441
  • 5.­1443
  • 5.­1450
  • 5.­1454-1455
  • 6.­2-4
  • 6.­18
  • 6.­20
  • 6.­25
  • 6.­31-32
  • 6.­35
  • 6.­37
  • 6.­66-67
  • 6.­69-71
  • 6.­74-77
  • 6.­83
  • 6.­93-94
  • 6.­102
  • n.­77-78
  • n.­91
  • n.­98
  • n.­106-107
  • n.­113
  • n.­118
  • n.­123
  • n.­157
  • n.­162
  • n.­205
  • n.­208
  • n.­213-214
  • n.­229
  • n.­234
  • n.­246
  • n.­253
  • n.­268
  • n.­273
  • n.­295
  • n.­301-302
  • n.­305
  • n.­307
  • n.­309
  • n.­377
  • n.­381
  • n.­433
  • n.­438
  • n.­452
  • n.­460
  • n.­467
  • n.­476
  • n.­485
  • n.­487
  • n.­496
  • n.­504
  • n.­527
  • n.­635
  • n.­643
  • n.­648-649
  • n.­668
  • n.­718-719
  • n.­734
  • n.­738
  • n.­812
  • n.­893
  • n.­902
  • n.­969
  • n.­1000
  • n.­1013
  • n.­1064-1065
  • n.­1075
  • n.­1138
  • n.­1155
  • n.­1187
  • n.­1241
  • n.­1372
  • n.­1420
  • n.­1442
  • n.­1470
  • n.­1479
  • n.­1490
  • n.­1492-1493
  • n.­1501-1502
  • n.­1510
  • n.­1513
  • n.­1516
  • n.­1530
  • n.­1532
  • n.­1543
  • n.­1546
  • n.­1549-1550
  • n.­1552
  • n.­1555-1556
  • n.­1559
  • n.­1561-1562
  • n.­1567
  • n.­1588
  • n.­1591
  • n.­1593
  • n.­1607
  • n.­1609
  • n.­1614
  • n.­1623-1624
  • n.­1638
  • n.­1646
  • n.­1657
  • n.­1678
  • n.­1682
  • n.­1710
  • n.­1721
  • n.­1723
  • n.­1759
  • n.­1769
  • n.­1773
  • n.­1814
  • n.­1823
  • n.­1837
  • n.­1839
  • n.­1842-1843
  • n.­1856
  • n.­1859
  • n.­1865
  • n.­1875
  • n.­1886
  • n.­1891
  • n.­1896
  • n.­1912
  • n.­1929
  • n.­1933
  • g.­2
  • g.­21
  • g.­24
  • g.­67
  • g.­138
  • g.­194
  • g.­216
  • g.­244
  • g.­248
  • g.­249
  • g.­252
  • g.­271
  • g.­272
  • g.­280
  • g.­339
  • g.­340
  • g.­356
  • g.­366
  • g.­384
g.­24

Bodhisattva level

Wylie:
  • byang chub sems dpa’i sa
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའི་ས།
Sanskrit:
  • bodhisattvabhūmi

The ninth of the ten levels traversed by all practitioners, from the level of an ordinary person until reaching buddhahood. When rendered in the plural, it is understood as a reference to all levels of accomplishment pertaining to bodhisattvas. See “ten levels” and “ten bodhisattva levels.”

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­183
  • 4.­500
  • 5.­963
g.­25

Brahmā

Wylie:
  • tshangs pa
Tibetan:
  • ཚངས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • brahmā

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A high-ranking deity presiding over a divine world; he is also considered to be the lord of the Sahā world (our universe). Though not considered a creator god in Buddhism, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two gods (the other being Indra/Śakra) said to have first exhorted the Buddha Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought-after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are many universes or world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them. His most frequent epithets are “Lord of the Sahā World” (sahāṃpati) and Great Brahmā (mahābrahman).

Located in 25 passages in the translation:

  • i.­58
  • 1.­29
  • 1.­88
  • 1.­174
  • 1.­176-177
  • 4.­55
  • 4.­179
  • 4.­701
  • 4.­880
  • 4.­968
  • 4.­999
  • 4.­1003
  • 4.­1009
  • 4.­1014
  • 4.­1184-1185
  • 5.­240
  • 5.­1020
  • 5.­1331
  • 5.­1415
  • 5.­1463
  • n.­288
  • n.­1786
  • g.­26
g.­26

Brahmaloka

Wylie:
  • tshangs pa’i ’jig rten
Tibetan:
  • ཚངས་པའི་འཇིག་རྟེན།
Sanskrit:
  • brahmaloka

A collective name for the first three heavens of the form realm, which correspond to the first concentration (dhyāna): Brahmakāyika, Brahmapurohita, and Mahābrahmā (also called Brahmapārṣadya). These are ruled over by the god Brahmā, who believes himself to be the creator of the universe. According to some sources, it can also be a general reference to all the heavens in the form realm and formless realm.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­330
g.­27

brahmin

Wylie:
  • bram ze
Tibetan:
  • བྲམ་ཟེ།
Sanskrit:
  • brāhmaṇa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A member of the highest of the four castes in Indian society, which is closely associated with religious vocations.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • i.­58
  • 1.­88
  • 1.­109
  • 4.­999
  • n.­1148
g.­28

Buddha level

Wylie:
  • sangs rgyas kyi sa
  • sangs rgyas sa
Tibetan:
  • སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ས།
  • སངས་རྒྱས་ས།
Sanskrit:
  • buddhabhūmi

The tenth and last of the ten levels traversed by all practitioners, from the level of an ordinary person until reaching buddhahood. See “ten levels.”

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­211
  • 3.­13
  • 4.­436
  • 4.­1183
  • 5.­643
  • 5.­964
  • n.­219
  • n.­1564
  • g.­340
g.­29

buddhadharma

Wylie:
  • sangs rgyas kyi chos
  • sangs rgyas chos
Tibetan:
  • སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ཆོས།
  • སངས་རྒྱས་ཆོས།
Sanskrit:
  • buddhadharma

The term can mean “teachings of the Buddha” or “buddha qualities.” In the latter sense, it is sometimes used as a general term, and sometimes it refers to sets such as the ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, the four detailed and thorough knowledges, the eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha, and so forth; or, more specifically, to another set of eighteen: the ten powers; the four fearlessnesses; mindfulness of body, speech, and mind; and great compassion.

Located in 53 passages in the translation:

  • i.­51
  • i.­63
  • i.­84
  • 1.­91
  • 1.­97
  • 1.­124
  • 1.­211
  • 4.­6-7
  • 4.­10
  • 4.­64-65
  • 4.­162
  • 4.­246
  • 4.­334
  • 4.­336
  • 4.­341
  • 4.­364
  • 4.­369-370
  • 4.­435
  • 4.­469
  • 4.­471
  • 4.­496
  • 4.­517
  • 4.­526
  • 4.­534
  • 4.­912
  • 4.­990
  • 4.­1183
  • 4.­1312
  • 5.­102-103
  • 5.­130-131
  • 5.­142
  • 5.­154
  • 5.­207
  • 5.­463
  • 5.­606
  • 5.­1041
  • 5.­1210
  • 5.­1219
  • 5.­1439
  • 6.­3-4
  • 6.­38
  • 6.­56
  • 6.­65
  • n.­341
  • n.­1241
  • n.­1957
  • g.­160
g.­31

calm abiding

Wylie:
  • zhi gnas
Tibetan:
  • ཞི་གནས།
Sanskrit:
  • śamatha

Refers to the meditative practice of calming the mind to rest free from the disturbance of thought. One of the two basic forms of Buddhist meditation, the other being insight.

Located in 16 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­49
  • 4.­53
  • 4.­497
  • 4.­851
  • 4.­872
  • 4.­884
  • 4.­985
  • 4.­990
  • 5.­191
  • 5.­1010
  • n.­67
  • n.­797
  • n.­819
  • n.­888
  • n.­1668
  • g.­307
g.­32

Cāturmahā­rājika

Wylie:
  • rgyal chen bzhi’i ris
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱལ་ཆེན་བཞིའི་རིས།
Sanskrit:
  • cāturmahā­rājika

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology, lowest among the six heavens of the desire realm (kāmadhātu, ’dod khams). Dwelling place of the Four Great Kings (caturmahārāja, rgyal chen bzhi), traditionally located on a terrace of Sumeru, just below the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. Each cardinal direction is ruled by one of the Four Great Kings and inhabited by a different class of nonhuman beings as their subjects: in the east, Dhṛtarāṣṭra rules the gandharvas; in the south, Virūḍhaka rules the kumbhāṇḍas; in the west, Virūpākṣa rules the nāgas; and in the north, Vaiśravaṇa rules the yakṣas.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­1009
g.­33

causal sign

Wylie:
  • mtshan ma
Tibetan:
  • མཚན་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • nimitta

A causal sign is the projected reality that functions as the objective support of a cognitive state. It cannot be separated out from the cognitive state and to that extent may enjoy a modicum of conventional reality. To “practice with a causal sign” means to look at an apparent phenomenon within accepting that it has more reality than it actually does.

Located in 123 passages in the translation:

  • i.­52
  • i.­75
  • i.­86
  • i.­98
  • i.­100
  • 1.­57-58
  • 1.­60
  • 1.­86-87
  • 4.­38
  • 4.­93
  • 4.­98
  • 4.­187
  • 4.­214
  • 4.­218
  • 4.­221-222
  • 4.­317-318
  • 4.­565
  • 4.­567
  • 4.­575-580
  • 4.­586-587
  • 4.­610-611
  • 4.­616-618
  • 4.­698-699
  • 4.­755
  • 4.­765
  • 4.­892
  • 4.­925
  • 4.­941
  • 4.­1153
  • 5.­34
  • 5.­166
  • 5.­171-172
  • 5.­183-184
  • 5.­209
  • 5.­214
  • 5.­229-231
  • 5.­239
  • 5.­263
  • 5.­335-336
  • 5.­357
  • 5.­403-404
  • 5.­413
  • 5.­432
  • 5.­485
  • 5.­490
  • 5.­564
  • 5.­570
  • 5.­581
  • 5.­835-836
  • 5.­860
  • 5.­976
  • 5.­990
  • 5.­1014
  • 5.­1019
  • 5.­1087
  • 5.­1106
  • 5.­1139
  • 5.­1183
  • 5.­1203
  • 5.­1235
  • 5.­1248
  • 5.­1421
  • 5.­1482
  • 5.­1488
  • 6.­6-8
  • 6.­11-14
  • 6.­23-30
  • 6.­32-33
  • 6.­35
  • 6.­39
  • 6.­43-44
  • 6.­63
  • n.­92
  • n.­94
  • n.­112
  • n.­564-567
  • n.­1098
  • n.­1224
  • n.­1283
  • n.­1491
  • n.­1589
  • n.­1839
  • n.­1940
  • n.­1943
  • n.­1957
g.­34

certification of dharmas

Wylie:
  • chos skyon med pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་སྐྱོན་མེད་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • dharma­niyama­tā

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­88
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­519
  • 4.­528
  • 4.­534
  • 4.­1183
  • 4.­1217
  • 5.­608-610
  • 5.­1375
  • n.­990
g.­35

clairvoyance

Wylie:
  • mngon par shes pa
Tibetan:
  • མངོན་པར་ཤེས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • abhijñā

The clairvoyances are listed as either five or six. The first five are the divine eye, divine ear, performance of miraculous power, recollection of past lives, and knowing others’ thoughts. A sixth, knowing that all outflows have been eliminated, is often added. The first five are attained through concentration (dhyāna) and are sometimes described as worldly, as they can be attained to some extent by non-Buddhist yogins, while the sixth is supramundane and attained only by realization‍.

Located in 46 passages in the translation:

  • i.­67
  • i.­119
  • 1.­29
  • 1.­32
  • 1.­69
  • 1.­80
  • 1.­99
  • 1.­103
  • 1.­124
  • 1.­132
  • 4.­40
  • 4.­57
  • 4.­171
  • 4.­230
  • 4.­289
  • 4.­309
  • 4.­332-335
  • 4.­380-381
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­985
  • 4.­990
  • 4.­993
  • 4.­997
  • 5.­90
  • 5.­204
  • 5.­235
  • 5.­832
  • 5.­898
  • 5.­1234-1236
  • 5.­1243
  • 5.­1250
  • 5.­1449-1450
  • 6.­78
  • 6.­96
  • n.­99
  • n.­107
  • n.­322
  • n.­1891
  • g.­113
g.­36

clear light

Wylie:
  • ’od gsal ba
Tibetan:
  • འོད་གསལ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • prabhāsvara

Clear light or luminosity refers to the subtlest level of mind, i.e., the fundamental, essential nature of all cognitive events. Though ever present within all sentient beings, this luminosity becomes manifest only when the gross mind has ceased to function. It is said that such a dissolution is experienced naturally by ordinary beings at the time of death, but it can also be experientially cultivated through certain meditative practices.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • i.­74
  • 1.­154
  • 4.­487-488
  • 4.­980
g.­37

clear realization

Wylie:
  • mngon par rtogs pa
Tibetan:
  • མངོན་པར་རྟོགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • abhisamaya

A samaya is a coming together, in this case of an object known and something that knows it; the abhi means “toward” or else adds an intensity to the act.

Located in 26 passages in the translation:

  • i.­114
  • 1.­167
  • 4.­582
  • 4.­585
  • 4.­953
  • 4.­1314-1315
  • 4.­1322-1323
  • 4.­1333
  • 5.­314
  • 5.­370
  • 5.­549
  • 5.­574-576
  • 5.­614
  • 5.­829-830
  • 5.­1221
  • 5.­1242
  • 5.­1467
  • n.­263
  • n.­1539
  • n.­1760
  • n.­1764
g.­38

concentration

Wylie:
  • bsam gtan
Tibetan:
  • བསམ་གཏན།
Sanskrit:
  • dhyāna

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Dhyāna is defined as one-pointed abiding in an undistracted state of mind, free from afflicted mental states. Four states of dhyāna are identified as being conducive to birth within the form realm. In the context of the Mahāyāna, it is the fifth of the six perfections. It is commonly translated as “concentration,” “meditative concentration,” and so on.

Located in 68 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­38
  • 1.­69
  • 1.­129
  • 1.­132
  • 1.­134
  • 1.­151
  • 4.­23
  • 4.­40
  • 4.­169
  • 4.­181
  • 4.­183
  • 4.­254
  • 4.­325-327
  • 4.­351
  • 4.­572
  • 4.­671
  • 4.­752
  • 4.­755
  • 4.­757
  • 4.­816
  • 4.­912
  • 4.­922
  • 4.­925
  • 4.­928-929
  • 4.­931-933
  • 4.­935
  • 4.­942-946
  • 4.­954
  • 4.­986
  • 4.­992-993
  • 4.­996
  • 5.­235
  • 5.­306
  • 5.­634
  • 5.­683
  • 5.­688
  • 5.­693
  • 5.­698
  • 5.­700
  • 5.­709
  • 5.­832
  • 5.­1236
  • 5.­1261
  • n.­75
  • n.­288
  • n.­309
  • n.­703
  • n.­706
  • n.­747
  • n.­821
  • n.­1156
  • g.­26
  • g.­35
  • g.­119
  • g.­134
  • g.­222
  • g.­299
  • g.­342
g.­39

conceptualization

Wylie:
  • rnam par rtog pa
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་པར་རྟོག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • vikalpa

A mental function that tends to superimpose upon reality, either relative or ultimate, a conceptualized dualistic perspective fabricated by the subjective mind. It is often opposed to direct perception (pratyakṣa, mngon sum).

Located in 99 passages in the translation:

  • i.­98
  • 1.­60
  • 1.­86
  • 1.­183
  • 3.­10
  • 3.­14
  • 4.­20
  • 4.­24-25
  • 4.­79
  • 4.­93
  • 4.­98
  • 4.­114-115
  • 4.­163
  • 4.­248
  • 4.­264
  • 4.­304
  • 4.­424-428
  • 4.­430-432
  • 4.­487
  • 4.­494-496
  • 4.­576
  • 4.­587
  • 4.­629
  • 4.­638
  • 4.­704-705
  • 4.­709
  • 4.­733
  • 4.­772
  • 4.­945
  • 4.­1031
  • 4.­1056
  • 4.­1076
  • 4.­1113
  • 4.­1125
  • 4.­1315-1316
  • 5.­156
  • 5.­162
  • 5.­169
  • 5.­172
  • 5.­183
  • 5.­185
  • 5.­190
  • 5.­193
  • 5.­231
  • 5.­266
  • 5.­309
  • 5.­311
  • 5.­320
  • 5.­350
  • 5.­365
  • 5.­368
  • 5.­431-432
  • 5.­451
  • 5.­484
  • 5.­496
  • 5.­509
  • 5.­537
  • 5.­631
  • 5.­976
  • 5.­1014
  • 5.­1145
  • 5.­1168
  • 5.­1233
  • 5.­1389
  • 5.­1469
  • 5.­1471
  • 5.­1479
  • 6.­33-35
  • 6.­44-46
  • 6.­48
  • 6.­54
  • 6.­75
  • 6.­77
  • 6.­80
  • n.­374
  • n.­421
  • n.­467
  • n.­474
  • n.­1283
  • n.­1636
  • n.­1918
  • n.­1966
g.­40

conceptualized

Wylie:
  • rnam par brtags pa
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་པར་བརྟགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • vikalpita

One of the three natures, used in the sense of “other-powered.”

Located in 58 passages in the translation:

  • i.­54
  • i.­61
  • i.­78
  • i.­118
  • 1.­87
  • 1.­118
  • 2.­16
  • 3.­10
  • 4.­25
  • 4.­110-111
  • 4.­216
  • 4.­499
  • 4.­534
  • 4.­542
  • 4.­544-547
  • 4.­551
  • 4.­557
  • 4.­772
  • 4.­889
  • 5.­7
  • 5.­82
  • 5.­155
  • 5.­162
  • 5.­315
  • 5.­318
  • 5.­484
  • 5.­490-491
  • 5.­541
  • 5.­605
  • 5.­1145-1146
  • 5.­1349
  • 6.­38
  • 6.­42
  • 6.­44-46
  • 6.­48
  • 6.­54
  • 6.­56
  • 6.­58
  • 6.­61-62
  • n.­449
  • n.­565
  • n.­1108
  • n.­1963
  • n.­1966
  • g.­14
  • g.­39
  • g.­173
  • g.­321
  • g.­352
g.­41

conduct

Wylie:
  • spyod pa
Tibetan:
  • སྤྱོད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • caraṇa

Located in 35 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­29
  • 1.­42
  • 1.­44
  • 1.­48
  • 1.­56
  • 1.­95
  • 1.­98
  • 1.­100
  • 1.­109
  • 1.­111
  • 1.­122-124
  • 1.­127
  • 1.­131
  • 1.­141
  • 3.­5
  • 3.­12
  • 3.­17-18
  • 4.­20
  • 4.­61
  • 4.­742
  • 4.­885
  • 4.­914
  • 4.­985
  • 4.­1080
  • 4.­1133
  • 4.­1166
  • 5.­563
  • 5.­1143
  • n.­78
  • n.­136
  • n.­517
  • g.­214
g.­42

confident readiness

Wylie:
  • spobs pa
Tibetan:
  • སྤོབས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • pratibhāna

Pratibhāna is the capacity for speaking in a confident and inspiring manner.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­90
  • g.­262
g.­43

confusion

Wylie:
  • gti mug
Tibetan:
  • གཏི་མུག
Sanskrit:
  • moha

One of the three poisons (triviṣa), together with greed and hatred, that bind beings to cyclic existence.

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­187-188
  • 4.­25
  • 4.­471-472
  • 4.­477
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­900
  • 4.­955
  • 4.­990
  • 4.­1050
  • 5.­300
  • 5.­472
  • g.­168
  • g.­171
g.­44

consciousness

Wylie:
  • rnam par shes pa
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་པར་ཤེས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • vijñāna

Consciousness is generally classified into the five sensory consciousnesses and mental consciousness. Fifth of the five aggregates and third of the twelve links of dependent origination.

Located in 84 passages in the translation:

  • i.­61
  • i.­78
  • 1.­26
  • 1.­60
  • 1.­87
  • 1.­93
  • 1.­121
  • 4.­122-123
  • 4.­125
  • 4.­127
  • 4.­186
  • 4.­204
  • 4.­207
  • 4.­209-210
  • 4.­278
  • 4.­281
  • 4.­284
  • 4.­320
  • 4.­449
  • 4.­462
  • 4.­473
  • 4.­529
  • 4.­541
  • 4.­544
  • 4.­580
  • 4.­624
  • 4.­648
  • 4.­678
  • 4.­691
  • 4.­693
  • 4.­702
  • 4.­828
  • 4.­864
  • 4.­901
  • 4.­939-940
  • 4.­977
  • 4.­1115
  • 4.­1183
  • 4.­1188
  • 4.­1202
  • 4.­1217
  • 4.­1258
  • 4.­1276
  • 4.­1293
  • 5.­78-79
  • 5.­161
  • 5.­298
  • 5.­306
  • 5.­318
  • 5.­349
  • 5.­392
  • 5.­470
  • 5.­504
  • 5.­522
  • 5.­524
  • 5.­619
  • 5.­1058
  • 6.­6
  • 6.­11
  • 6.­30
  • 6.­32
  • 6.­41
  • n.­288
  • n.­489
  • n.­494-495
  • n.­565
  • n.­789
  • n.­840
  • n.­1224
  • n.­1275
  • n.­1387
  • n.­1760
  • n.­1789
  • n.­1829
  • n.­1957
  • n.­1961
  • g.­4
  • g.­79
  • g.­359
g.­45

constituent

Wylie:
  • khams
Tibetan:
  • ཁམས།
Sanskrit:
  • dhātu

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In the context of Buddhist philosophy, one way to describe experience in terms of eighteen elements (eye, form, and eye consciousness; ear, sound, and ear consciousness; nose, smell, and nose consciousness; tongue, taste, and tongue consciousness; body, touch, and body consciousness; and mind, mental phenomena, and mind consciousness).

This also refers to the elements of the world, which can be enumerated as four, five, or six. The four elements are earth, water, fire, and air. A fifth, space, is often added, and the sixth is consciousness.

In this text:

Also rendered here as “element.”

Located in 48 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­4
  • 1.­91
  • 4.­46
  • 4.­106
  • 4.­119
  • 4.­171
  • 4.­259
  • 4.­421
  • 4.­456
  • 4.­465
  • 4.­471-472
  • 4.­476
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­517
  • 4.­532-533
  • 4.­640
  • 4.­698
  • 4.­702
  • 4.­720
  • 4.­838-839
  • 4.­856
  • 4.­976-977
  • 4.­982
  • 4.­1186
  • 4.­1260
  • 5.­207
  • 5.­489
  • 5.­1296
  • 5.­1390
  • 5.­1476
  • 5.­1491
  • 6.­13
  • n.­779
  • n.­840-841
  • n.­968
  • n.­1042
  • n.­1468
  • n.­1760
  • n.­1789
  • n.­1865
  • g.­79
  • g.­84
  • g.­290
g.­46

contact

Wylie:
  • ’dus te reg pa
  • reg pa
Tibetan:
  • འདུས་ཏེ་རེག་པ།
  • རེག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • saṃsparśa
  • sparśa

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­26
  • 4.­1185
  • 4.­1203
  • 4.­1217
  • 5.­306
  • 5.­1446
  • 6.­93-94
  • n.­222
  • n.­1275
  • n.­1886-1887
  • g.­296
  • g.­297
g.­49

craving

Wylie:
  • sred pa
Tibetan:
  • སྲེད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • tṛṣṇā

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Eighth of the twelve links of dependent origination. Craving is often listed as threefold: craving for the desirable, craving for existence, and craving for nonexistence.

Located in 16 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­29-30
  • 4.­93
  • 4.­137
  • 4.­497
  • 4.­650-651
  • 4.­654
  • 4.­1059
  • 5.­222
  • 5.­527
  • 5.­610
  • 5.­1455
  • n.­52
  • n.­1470
  • n.­1887
g.­50

cultivate

Wylie:
  • sgom
Tibetan:
  • སྒོམ།
Sanskrit:
  • √bhū
  • bhāvayati

Acquainting the mind with a virtuous object. Often translated as “meditation” and “familiarization.”

Located in 24 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­69
  • 1.­171
  • 2.­6
  • 4.­4
  • 4.­25
  • 4.­36
  • 4.­40
  • 4.­45
  • 4.­52
  • 4.­292
  • 4.­336
  • 4.­431
  • 4.­563
  • 4.­870
  • 4.­945
  • 5.­938
  • 5.­991
  • 5.­1002
  • 5.­1021
  • 5.­1050
  • 5.­1371
  • 6.­66
  • n.­233
  • n.­1607
g.­51

cyclic existence

Wylie:
  • ’khor ba
Tibetan:
  • འཁོར་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • saṃsāra

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A state of involuntary existence conditioned by afflicted mental states and the imprint of past actions, characterized by suffering in a cycle of life, death, and rebirth. On its reversal, the contrasting state of nirvāṇa is attained, free from suffering and the processes of rebirth.

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • i.­111
  • 1.­69
  • 1.­97
  • 5.­369
  • 5.­1057-1058
  • n.­1875
  • g.­43
  • g.­55
  • g.­168
  • g.­171
  • g.­299
g.­52

Daṃṣṭrāsena

Wylie:
  • mche ba’i sde
Tibetan:
  • མཆེ་བའི་སྡེ།
Sanskrit:
  • daṃṣṭrāsena

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A late eighth or early ninth century Kashmiri scholar, considered to be the author of at least one of the two “bṛhaṭṭīkā” commentaries on the long Prajñāpāramitā sūtras. The spellings Daṃṣṭrasena and Daṃṣṭrāsena are both found, as well as several alternatives such as Daṃṣṭasena and Diṣṭasena.

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­2
  • i.­14-15
  • i.­22-25
  • i.­31-32
  • i.­34-35
  • i.­41
  • i.­44
  • n.­80
g.­53

Darśana level

Wylie:
  • mthong ba’i sa
Tibetan:
  • མཐོང་བའི་ས།
Sanskrit:
  • darśanabhūmi

Lit. “Seeing level.” The fourth of the ten levels traversed by all practitioners, from the level of an ordinary person until reaching buddhahood. It is equivalent to the level of a stream enterer. See “ten levels.”

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­208
  • 4.­1136
  • 5.­958
  • g.­340
g.­54

defilement

Wylie:
  • kun nas nyon mongs pa
Tibetan:
  • ཀུན་ནས་ཉོན་མོངས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • saṃkleśa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A term meaning defilement, impurity, and pollution, broadly referring to cognitive and emotional factors that disturb and obscure the mind. As the self-perpetuating process of affliction in the minds of beings, it is a synonym for saṃsāra. It is often paired with its opposite, vyavadāna, meaning “purification.”

Located in 71 passages in the translation:

  • i.­102
  • i.­108
  • 1.­25-27
  • 1.­30
  • 1.­63
  • 1.­91
  • 1.­131
  • 1.­183
  • 1.­222
  • 4.­88-89
  • 4.­203-206
  • 4.­213
  • 4.­273-276
  • 4.­428
  • 4.­472
  • 4.­642-643
  • 4.­663
  • 4.­696-697
  • 4.­702
  • 4.­737
  • 4.­876
  • 4.­880
  • 4.­886
  • 4.­980
  • 4.­992
  • 4.­1007
  • 4.­1020
  • 4.­1186
  • 4.­1334
  • 5.­107
  • 5.­187
  • 5.­194
  • 5.­241
  • 5.­287-288
  • 5.­313
  • 5.­327
  • 5.­361
  • 5.­365
  • 5.­400
  • 5.­454
  • 5.­492
  • 5.­575
  • 5.­664
  • 5.­910
  • 5.­987-988
  • 5.­1030-1031
  • 5.­1041
  • 5.­1211
  • 5.­1382
  • 6.­17
  • n.­50
  • n.­386
  • n.­1042
  • n.­1760
  • g.­255
  • g.­339
  • g.­342
g.­55

deliverance

Wylie:
  • rnam par thar pa
  • rnam par grol ba
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་པར་ཐར་པ།
  • རྣམ་པར་གྲོལ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • vimokṣa

In its most general sense, this term refers to the state of freedom from suffering and cyclic existence, or saṃsāra, that is the goal of the Buddhist path. More specifically, the term may refer to a category of advanced meditative attainment known as the “eight deliverances.”

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­69
  • 4.­942
  • 4.­945-946
  • 4.­992
  • 4.­996
  • 5.­1261
  • g.­75
g.­57

dependent origination

Wylie:
  • rten cing ’brel bar ’byung ba
Tibetan:
  • རྟེན་ཅིང་འབྲེལ་བར་འབྱུང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • pratītya­samutpāda

The relative nature of phenomena, which arise in dependence on causes and conditions. Together with the four noble truths, this was the first teaching given by the Buddha. When this appears as plural in the translation, it refers to dharmas as dependently originated.

Located in 26 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­4
  • 1.­57
  • 1.­121
  • 4.­80
  • 4.­120
  • 4.­122-125
  • 4.­216
  • 4.­259
  • 4.­456
  • 4.­702
  • 4.­720
  • 4.­808
  • 4.­1206
  • 4.­1260
  • 4.­1264
  • 5.­12
  • 5.­301
  • 5.­489
  • n.­404
  • n.­885
  • n.­1042
  • n.­1647
  • g.­290
g.­58

desire realm

Wylie:
  • ’dod pa’i khams
Tibetan:
  • འདོད་པའི་ཁམས།
Sanskrit:
  • kāmadhātu

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In Buddhist cosmology, this is our own realm, the lowest and most coarse of the three realms of saṃsāra. It is called this because beings here are characterized by their strong longing for and attachment to the pleasures of the senses. The desire realm includes hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, asuras, and the lowest six heavens of the gods‍—from the Heaven of the Four Great Kings (cāturmahā­rājika) up to the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations (para­nirmita­vaśa­vartin). Located above the desire realm is the form realm (rūpadhātu) and the formless realm (ārūpyadhātu).

Located in 23 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­36
  • 1.­91
  • 4.­329
  • 4.­471
  • 4.­701
  • 4.­943-944
  • 4.­978
  • 4.­983
  • 4.­990
  • 4.­1009
  • 4.­1175-1177
  • 4.­1181
  • 5.­240
  • 5.­316
  • n.­277
  • n.­288
  • n.­1497
  • g.­353
  • g.­360
  • g.­366
g.­59

dhāraṇī

Wylie:
  • gzungs
Tibetan:
  • གཟུངས།
Sanskrit:
  • dhāraṇī

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The term dhāraṇī has the sense of something that “holds” or “retains,” and so it can refer to the special capacity of practitioners to memorize and recall detailed teachings. It can also refer to a verbal expression of the teachings‍—an incantation, spell, or mnemonic formula‍—that distills and “holds” essential points of the Dharma and is used by practitioners to attain mundane and supramundane goals. The same term is also used to denote texts that contain such formulas.

Located in 31 passages in the translation:

  • i.­56
  • i.­84
  • 1.­42-48
  • 1.­51-53
  • 1.­55-57
  • 1.­69
  • 1.­124
  • 4.­554
  • 4.­1035
  • 4.­1040-1042
  • 5.­1072
  • 5.­1344
  • n.­79
  • n.­85-87
  • n.­1156
  • n.­1816
  • g.­60
g.­60

dhāraṇī gateway

Wylie:
  • gzungs kyi sgo
Tibetan:
  • གཟུངས་ཀྱི་སྒོ།
Sanskrit:
  • dhāraṇīmukha

As a magical formula, a dhāraṇī constitutes a gateway to the infinite qualities of awakening, the awakened state itself, and the various forms of buddha activity. Also rendered here as “dhāraṇī door.” See also “dhāraṇī.”

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • i.­53
  • i.­84
  • 1.­50
  • 1.­109
  • 1.­125
  • 4.­437
  • 4.­787
  • 4.­985
  • 4.­1034
  • 4.­1042
  • 4.­1168
  • 4.­1209
  • 5.­1072
  • n.­84
g.­61

dharma

Wylie:
  • chos
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས།
Sanskrit:
  • dharma

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The term dharma conveys ten different meanings, according to Vasubandhu’s Vyākhyā­yukti. The primary meanings are as follows: the doctrine taught by the Buddha (Dharma); the ultimate reality underlying and expressed through the Buddha’s teaching (Dharma); the trainings that the Buddha’s teaching stipulates (dharmas); the various awakened qualities or attainments acquired through practicing and realizing the Buddha’s teaching (dharmas); qualities or aspects more generally, i.e., phenomena or phenomenal attributes (dharmas); and mental objects (dharmas).

Located in 973 passages in the translation:

  • i.­44
  • i.­49
  • i.­52-53
  • i.­57
  • i.­61
  • i.­65-66
  • i.­68-69
  • i.­72-73
  • i.­75-76
  • i.­79
  • i.­84
  • i.­93
  • i.­95
  • i.­101-106
  • i.­108
  • i.­114
  • i.­117-118
  • 1.­6-8
  • 1.­12
  • 1.­40
  • 1.­44
  • 1.­48-52
  • 1.­57
  • 1.­60
  • 1.­69
  • 1.­73
  • 1.­76-79
  • 1.­85-88
  • 1.­91
  • 1.­93
  • 1.­103-104
  • 1.­106-107
  • 1.­109
  • 1.­123
  • 1.­130
  • 1.­139-140
  • 1.­142
  • 1.­160-161
  • 1.­170
  • 1.­173
  • 1.­179
  • 1.­191
  • 1.­197
  • 1.­201
  • 1.­208
  • 1.­210-211
  • 1.­213
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­3-4
  • 2.­6
  • 2.­11
  • 3.­1
  • 3.­6
  • 3.­9
  • 3.­13
  • 3.­20
  • 4.­1-2
  • 4.­4
  • 4.­12
  • 4.­14
  • 4.­16
  • 4.­25
  • 4.­28
  • 4.­32
  • 4.­39-40
  • 4.­45
  • 4.­49-53
  • 4.­66
  • 4.­75
  • 4.­77-78
  • 4.­85
  • 4.­91
  • 4.­104
  • 4.­106-108
  • 4.­110
  • 4.­113
  • 4.­116-120
  • 4.­123
  • 4.­125-126
  • 4.­128
  • 4.­130
  • 4.­134-135
  • 4.­137
  • 4.­139
  • 4.­141
  • 4.­143
  • 4.­155
  • 4.­158-159
  • 4.­161-163
  • 4.­170-171
  • 4.­175
  • 4.­187
  • 4.­189-190
  • 4.­192-193
  • 4.­195-196
  • 4.­199
  • 4.­203-204
  • 4.­210
  • 4.­212
  • 4.­215-217
  • 4.­219
  • 4.­221
  • 4.­239-240
  • 4.­249
  • 4.­252-255
  • 4.­259
  • 4.­261
  • 4.­264
  • 4.­268
  • 4.­273
  • 4.­277-278
  • 4.­286
  • 4.­288-289
  • 4.­292
  • 4.­294
  • 4.­296
  • 4.­302
  • 4.­308
  • 4.­317
  • 4.­319
  • 4.­330
  • 4.­335
  • 4.­338
  • 4.­343
  • 4.­379
  • 4.­392-393
  • 4.­399
  • 4.­401
  • 4.­404
  • 4.­406-407
  • 4.­409
  • 4.­416
  • 4.­422-423
  • 4.­425
  • 4.­428
  • 4.­430-432
  • 4.­434-435
  • 4.­437
  • 4.­455
  • 4.­463
  • 4.­465
  • 4.­467-469
  • 4.­471-473
  • 4.­475
  • 4.­481-482
  • 4.­486
  • 4.­495
  • 4.­497
  • 4.­504
  • 4.­506-507
  • 4.­509-510
  • 4.­512
  • 4.­516-517
  • 4.­523-530
  • 4.­533-534
  • 4.­536-538
  • 4.­540-541
  • 4.­548-549
  • 4.­554
  • 4.­559
  • 4.­562
  • 4.­565-566
  • 4.­568-569
  • 4.­572
  • 4.­574
  • 4.­579-581
  • 4.­583-585
  • 4.­587
  • 4.­595
  • 4.­597
  • 4.­600-607
  • 4.­610
  • 4.­614
  • 4.­616
  • 4.­619-622
  • 4.­627-628
  • 4.­631
  • 4.­640
  • 4.­642-644
  • 4.­649
  • 4.­653-656
  • 4.­658-661
  • 4.­663-664
  • 4.­669-671
  • 4.­677-678
  • 4.­706
  • 4.­709
  • 4.­717
  • 4.­719-720
  • 4.­728-729
  • 4.­732
  • 4.­737
  • 4.­740
  • 4.­755
  • 4.­760
  • 4.­762
  • 4.­769
  • 4.­771
  • 4.­777
  • 4.­791-792
  • 4.­795
  • 4.­797-798
  • 4.­801
  • 4.­803-805
  • 4.­818-819
  • 4.­823-829
  • 4.­833-834
  • 4.­836-838
  • 4.­869-870
  • 4.­874-875
  • 4.­879
  • 4.­882-884
  • 4.­891-893
  • 4.­902
  • 4.­905
  • 4.­908
  • 4.­913
  • 4.­920
  • 4.­922
  • 4.­981
  • 4.­1004-1009
  • 4.­1011
  • 4.­1016-1018
  • 4.­1020
  • 4.­1022
  • 4.­1032
  • 4.­1039-1040
  • 4.­1064-1065
  • 4.­1074
  • 4.­1087
  • 4.­1093-1094
  • 4.­1104
  • 4.­1114
  • 4.­1116-1118
  • 4.­1123
  • 4.­1128
  • 4.­1130
  • 4.­1143
  • 4.­1147-1148
  • 4.­1155-1156
  • 4.­1162
  • 4.­1164
  • 4.­1166
  • 4.­1168
  • 4.­1174-1175
  • 4.­1183
  • 4.­1185
  • 4.­1188
  • 4.­1193-1194
  • 4.­1202
  • 4.­1215
  • 4.­1222
  • 4.­1226
  • 4.­1228-1230
  • 4.­1233
  • 4.­1237
  • 4.­1249
  • 4.­1254
  • 4.­1256-1259
  • 4.­1262-1264
  • 4.­1266-1269
  • 4.­1271-1275
  • 4.­1280
  • 4.­1294
  • 4.­1296
  • 4.­1299-1301
  • 4.­1313-1316
  • 4.­1318
  • 4.­1320-1321
  • 4.­1326-1331
  • 4.­1333
  • 4.­1335
  • 4.­1337-1340
  • 4.­1342
  • 4.­1346
  • 4.­1360
  • 5.­4
  • 5.­40
  • 5.­61-62
  • 5.­67-68
  • 5.­73-74
  • 5.­76-77
  • 5.­85-86
  • 5.­90-91
  • 5.­96
  • 5.­101
  • 5.­104-105
  • 5.­110-112
  • 5.­114
  • 5.­117
  • 5.­119-120
  • 5.­124
  • 5.­129
  • 5.­133-134
  • 5.­142
  • 5.­148-149
  • 5.­158
  • 5.­162
  • 5.­169-170
  • 5.­173
  • 5.­179
  • 5.­183
  • 5.­186
  • 5.­188-189
  • 5.­195
  • 5.­203
  • 5.­207
  • 5.­225
  • 5.­227
  • 5.­232
  • 5.­242-245
  • 5.­248
  • 5.­260-261
  • 5.­263
  • 5.­265-268
  • 5.­270
  • 5.­273
  • 5.­275
  • 5.­278
  • 5.­283
  • 5.­288-290
  • 5.­293
  • 5.­296
  • 5.­298-299
  • 5.­301
  • 5.­304
  • 5.­306
  • 5.­309
  • 5.­314-315
  • 5.­318-320
  • 5.­323
  • 5.­335-336
  • 5.­340-341
  • 5.­344
  • 5.­346
  • 5.­350-351
  • 5.­353
  • 5.­359-360
  • 5.­365
  • 5.­367
  • 5.­369-380
  • 5.­386
  • 5.­388-389
  • 5.­394-396
  • 5.­398
  • 5.­402
  • 5.­406
  • 5.­409
  • 5.­416
  • 5.­418
  • 5.­423
  • 5.­430
  • 5.­432
  • 5.­434
  • 5.­443
  • 5.­464
  • 5.­470
  • 5.­489
  • 5.­505-506
  • 5.­515
  • 5.­517
  • 5.­519-520
  • 5.­525
  • 5.­527
  • 5.­529
  • 5.­548-549
  • 5.­563-564
  • 5.­576-577
  • 5.­579
  • 5.­582
  • 5.­584
  • 5.­587
  • 5.­589-590
  • 5.­592
  • 5.­594
  • 5.­597
  • 5.­603-607
  • 5.­609-610
  • 5.­614
  • 5.­619-625
  • 5.­630
  • 5.­633-634
  • 5.­636-637
  • 5.­647
  • 5.­668
  • 5.­671
  • 5.­675
  • 5.­677
  • 5.­715
  • 5.­728
  • 5.­731-732
  • 5.­742
  • 5.­755
  • 5.­758
  • 5.­761-763
  • 5.­784
  • 5.­791
  • 5.­798
  • 5.­812-813
  • 5.­816-817
  • 5.­826
  • 5.­828
  • 5.­835-836
  • 5.­843-845
  • 5.­849
  • 5.­853-854
  • 5.­856
  • 5.­861-862
  • 5.­864
  • 5.­866
  • 5.­870-871
  • 5.­878
  • 5.­880-881
  • 5.­885
  • 5.­892-893
  • 5.­895-897
  • 5.­900
  • 5.­902
  • 5.­906
  • 5.­908
  • 5.­911-920
  • 5.­922
  • 5.­924
  • 5.­926
  • 5.­948-949
  • 5.­956
  • 5.­987
  • 5.­989
  • 5.­994-998
  • 5.­1013-1014
  • 5.­1018
  • 5.­1020
  • 5.­1031-1032
  • 5.­1035
  • 5.­1041-1042
  • 5.­1048-1051
  • 5.­1053-1054
  • 5.­1057
  • 5.­1059
  • 5.­1062
  • 5.­1067
  • 5.­1073
  • 5.­1084
  • 5.­1089
  • 5.­1091
  • 5.­1096
  • 5.­1098
  • 5.­1107
  • 5.­1111
  • 5.­1120-1121
  • 5.­1124-1127
  • 5.­1129-1131
  • 5.­1133
  • 5.­1136-1137
  • 5.­1140
  • 5.­1142
  • 5.­1144-1145
  • 5.­1154-1158
  • 5.­1160
  • 5.­1163
  • 5.­1171
  • 5.­1175-1177
  • 5.­1182
  • 5.­1190-1191
  • 5.­1197
  • 5.­1199
  • 5.­1203
  • 5.­1205
  • 5.­1226-1227
  • 5.­1229
  • 5.­1234
  • 5.­1236
  • 5.­1247
  • 5.­1250-1252
  • 5.­1291
  • 5.­1308
  • 5.­1344
  • 5.­1348-1349
  • 5.­1351-1352
  • 5.­1360-1361
  • 5.­1365-1367
  • 5.­1378
  • 5.­1381
  • 5.­1385-1389
  • 5.­1391-1392
  • 5.­1397
  • 5.­1399-1402
  • 5.­1405-1408
  • 5.­1413-1414
  • 5.­1424
  • 5.­1432-1434
  • 5.­1437
  • 5.­1447-1448
  • 5.­1450
  • 5.­1453-1455
  • 5.­1458
  • 5.­1463-1465
  • 5.­1469-1474
  • 5.­1491-1492
  • 5.­1494-1495
  • 5.­1497
  • 6.­3-4
  • 6.­6
  • 6.­13
  • 6.­17
  • 6.­37
  • 6.­41
  • 6.­50
  • 6.­58
  • 6.­66
  • 6.­75
  • 6.­82
  • 6.­92-93
  • n.­50
  • n.­115
  • n.­158
  • n.­249
  • n.­277
  • n.­295
  • n.­301
  • n.­304
  • n.­319
  • n.­340
  • n.­342-344
  • n.­346
  • n.­348
  • n.­379-380
  • n.­392
  • n.­397-398
  • n.­404
  • n.­446
  • n.­448
  • n.­450
  • n.­464
  • n.­467
  • n.­473-474
  • n.­496
  • n.­538
  • n.­561-563
  • n.­566
  • n.­572
  • n.­592
  • n.­611
  • n.­752
  • n.­755
  • n.­774
  • n.­790
  • n.­793
  • n.­796-798
  • n.­804
  • n.­808
  • n.­858
  • n.­860-861
  • n.­876
  • n.­933
  • n.­965
  • n.­970
  • n.­989
  • n.­1025
  • n.­1036
  • n.­1089
  • n.­1098
  • n.­1130
  • n.­1144
  • n.­1187
  • n.­1241
  • n.­1274
  • n.­1283
  • n.­1311
  • n.­1343
  • n.­1350
  • n.­1404
  • n.­1457
  • n.­1467-1468
  • n.­1470
  • n.­1485
  • n.­1491-1492
  • n.­1516
  • n.­1529
  • n.­1534
  • n.­1543
  • n.­1552
  • n.­1562
  • n.­1564
  • n.­1633
  • n.­1639
  • n.­1646
  • n.­1678
  • n.­1744
  • n.­1756
  • n.­1760
  • n.­1772-1773
  • n.­1814
  • n.­1822-1823
  • n.­1829
  • n.­1839
  • n.­1842-1843
  • n.­1855-1856
  • n.­1865
  • n.­1877
  • n.­1886
  • n.­1896
  • n.­1902
  • n.­1912
  • n.­1915
  • n.­1918
  • n.­1931
  • n.­1961
  • n.­1987
  • g.­57
  • g.­63
  • g.­66
  • g.­67
  • g.­77
  • g.­85
  • g.­115
  • g.­133
  • g.­256
  • g.­284
  • g.­290
  • g.­291
  • g.­301
  • g.­339
  • g.­351
  • g.­364
g.­63

dharma body

Wylie:
  • chos kyi sku
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་ཀྱི་སྐུ།
Sanskrit:
  • dharma­kāya

In distinction to the form body (rūpakāya) of a buddha, this is the eternal, imperceptible realization of a buddha. In origin it was a term for the presence of the Dharma and has become synonymous with the true nature.

Located in 37 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­9
  • 1.­182
  • 4.­97
  • 4.­162
  • 4.­302
  • 4.­436
  • 4.­487
  • 4.­497
  • 4.­693
  • 4.­729
  • 4.­1155
  • 4.­1174
  • 4.­1297
  • 4.­1317
  • 5.­130
  • 5.­153
  • 5.­168
  • 5.­207
  • 5.­262
  • 5.­291
  • 5.­322
  • 5.­345
  • 5.­518
  • 5.­606
  • 5.­1038
  • 5.­1059
  • 5.­1062
  • 5.­1198
  • 5.­1203
  • 5.­1362
  • 5.­1439
  • 6.­73
  • n.­41
  • n.­48
  • n.­1193
  • n.­1468
  • g.­128
g.­64

dharma constituent

Wylie:
  • chos kyi khams
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་ཀྱི་ཁམས།
Sanskrit:
  • dharma­dhātu

One of the eighteen constituents, referring to mental phenomena.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­977
  • g.­66
  • g.­79
g.­66

dharma-constituent

Wylie:
  • chos kyi dbyings
  • chos dbyings
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་ཀྱི་དབྱིངས།
  • ཆོས་དབྱིངས།
Sanskrit:
  • dharma­dhātu

Dharma-dhātu is a synonym for emptiness or the ultimate nature of phenomena (dharmatā). This term is interpreted variously‍—given the many connotations of dharma/chos‍—as the sphere, element, or nature of phenomena, suchness, or truth. In this text it is used with this general, Mahāyāna sense, not to be confused with dharma constituent (Tib. chos kyi khams), also called in Sanskrit dharma­dhātu, which is one of the eighteen constituents. See also “dharma constituent.”

Located in 63 passages in the translation:

  • i.­117
  • 1.­60
  • 1.­94
  • 1.­109
  • 1.­211
  • 3.­12
  • 4.­100
  • 4.­162
  • 4.­189
  • 4.­192
  • 4.­313
  • 4.­317-318
  • 4.­416
  • 4.­436
  • 4.­465
  • 4.­467
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­517
  • 4.­526
  • 4.­534
  • 4.­698-700
  • 4.­702
  • 4.­1183
  • 4.­1199
  • 4.­1216-1217
  • 4.­1245
  • 5.­322
  • 5.­545
  • 5.­604
  • 5.­606
  • 5.­850
  • 5.­864-866
  • 5.­1145
  • 5.­1348
  • 5.­1362
  • 5.­1364-1366
  • 5.­1376
  • 5.­1388-1393
  • 5.­1438
  • 6.­30
  • n.­136
  • n.­253
  • n.­309
  • n.­932
  • n.­979
  • n.­1283
  • n.­1521
  • n.­1842-1843
  • g.­104
g.­67

Dharmameghā

Wylie:
  • chos kyi sprin
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་ཀྱི་སྤྲིན།
Sanskrit:
  • dharmameghā

Lit. “Cloud of Dharma.” The tenth level of accomplishment pertaining to bodhisattvas. See “ten bodhisattva levels.”

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­125
  • 3.­12
  • 5.­1143
  • g.­339
g.­68

dharmas on the side of awakening

Wylie:
  • byang chub kyi phyogs kyi chos rnams
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་ཕྱོགས་ཀྱི་ཆོས་རྣམས།
Sanskrit:
  • bodhi­pakṣa­dharma

See “thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening.”

Located in 32 passages in the translation:

  • i.­63
  • 1.­37
  • 1.­91
  • 4.­6-8
  • 4.­26
  • 4.­29
  • 4.­31
  • 4.­34-36
  • 4.­52-54
  • 4.­336
  • 4.­341
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­658
  • 4.­721
  • 4.­886
  • 4.­985
  • 4.­987
  • 5.­289
  • 5.­812
  • 5.­1219
  • 5.­1226
  • 5.­1349
  • n.­1241
  • n.­1744-1745
  • g.­346
g.­69

dharmatā

Wylie:
  • chos nyid
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • dharmatā

See “true nature of dharmas.”

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • i.­61
  • i.­95
  • n.­147
  • n.­249
  • n.­522
  • n.­1032
  • n.­1462
  • n.­1469
  • g.­66
  • g.­104
  • g.­352
  • g.­364
g.­72

distinct attributes of a buddha

Wylie:
  • sangs rgyas kyi chos ma ’dres pa
Tibetan:
  • སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ཆོས་མ་འདྲེས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • āveṇika­buddha­dharma

See “eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha.”

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­254
  • 4.­431
  • 4.­721
  • 4.­762
  • 4.­1209
  • 4.­1217
  • 4.­1230
  • 5.­606
  • n.­107
g.­73

do not stand

Wylie:
  • gnas pa med pa
  • mi gnas pa
Tibetan:
  • གནས་པ་མེད་པ།
  • མི་གནས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • asthita

Located in 18 passages in the translation:

  • i.­87
  • i.­95
  • 4.­132
  • 4.­537-539
  • 4.­541
  • 4.­556
  • 4.­701
  • 4.­1155
  • 4.­1157-1160
  • 5.­69
  • 5.­425-426
  • 5.­1133
g.­74

door to liberation

Wylie:
  • rnam par thar pa’i sgo
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་པར་ཐར་པའི་སྒོ།
Sanskrit:
  • vimokṣa­mukha

See “gateways to liberation.”

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • i.­69
  • 1.­58
  • 4.­36
  • 4.­289
  • 4.­1186
  • g.­154
g.­75

eight deliverances

Wylie:
  • rnam par thar pa brgyad
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་པར་ཐར་པ་བརྒྱད།
Sanskrit:
  • aṣṭavimokṣa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A series of progressively more subtle states of meditative realization or attainment. There are several presentations of these found in the canonical literature. One of the most common is as follows: (1) One observes form while the mind dwells at the level of the form realm. (2) One observes forms externally while discerning formlessness internally. (3) One dwells in the direct experience of the body’s pleasant aspect. (4) One dwells in the realization of the sphere of infinite space by transcending all conceptions of matter, resistance, and diversity. (5) Transcending the sphere of infinite space, one dwells in the realization of the sphere of infinite consciousness. (6) Transcending the sphere of infinite consciousness, one dwells in the realization of the sphere of nothingness. (7) Transcending the sphere of nothingness, one dwells in the realization of the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception. (8) Transcending the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception, one dwells in the realization of the cessation of conception and feeling.

In this text:

The eight deliverances are explained in 4.­942–4.­946 on khri brgyad 16.­64–16.­70.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­37
  • 4.­942
  • n.­274
  • n.­740
  • g.­55
g.­76

eight ways great persons think

Wylie:
  • skyes bu chen po’i rnam par rtog pa brgyad
Tibetan:
  • སྐྱེས་བུ་ཆེན་པོའི་རྣམ་པར་རྟོག་པ་བརྒྱད།
Sanskrit:
  • aṣṭa­mahā­puruṣa­vitarka

Thinking that one will (1) eliminate the suffering of beings, (2) lead beings to wealth and affluence, (3) benefit beings with one’s own flesh and blood, (4) benefit beings even if it means remaining in the hells for a long time, and (5) never be reborn with wealth or power that does not benefit beings, that focuses solely on the ultimate, or that causes harm to beings; (6) that beings’ negative actions will ripen upon oneself, and one’s positive actions will ripen upon them; (7) that one will fulfill the wishes of beings through great worldly and supramundane riches; and (8) that one will become a buddha and thus deliver beings from suffering.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­61
g.­77

eight worldly dharmas

Wylie:
  • ’jig rten gyi chos brgyad
Tibetan:
  • འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཆོས་བརྒྱད།
Sanskrit:
  • aṣṭa­loka­dharma

The eight “worldly dharmas” (lokadharmāḥ) are the conditions that operate like laws of nature (dharma) ruling an ordinary person’s life (loka). They are explained at (4.­833) as “attaining, fame, pleasure, and praise, which give rise to mental attachment in an ordinary person; and the four of not attaining, infamy, blame, and pain, which give rise to depression.”

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­397
  • n.­816
  • g.­393
g.­79

eighteen constituents

Wylie:
  • khams bcwa brgyad
Tibetan:
  • ཁམས་བཅྭ་བརྒྱད།
Sanskrit:
  • aṣṭādaśadhātu

The eighteen constituents through which sensory experience is produced: the six sense faculties (indriya); the six corresponding sense objects (ālambana); and the six sensory consciousnesses (vijñāna).

When grouped these are: the eye constituent, form constituent, and eye consciousness constituent; the ear constituent, sound constituent, and ear consciousness constituent; the nose constituent, smell constituent, and nose consciousness constituent; the tongue constituent, taste constituent, and tongue consciousness constituent; the body constituent, touch constituent, and body consciousness constituent; the thinking-mind constituent, dharma constituent, and thinking-mind consciousness constituent.

See also “constituents.”

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­106
  • n.­1789
  • g.­64
  • g.­66
g.­80

eighteen distinct attributes of a buddha

Wylie:
  • sangs rgyas kyi chos ma ’dres pa bcwa brgyad
Tibetan:
  • སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ཆོས་མ་འདྲེས་པ་བཅྭ་བརྒྱད།
Sanskrit:
  • aṣṭā­daśāveṇika­buddha­dharma

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Eighteen special features of a buddha’s behavior, realization, activity, and wisdom that are not shared by other beings. They are generally listed as: (1) he never makes a mistake, (2) he is never boisterous, (3) he never forgets, (4) his concentration never falters, (5) he has no notion of distinctness, (6) his equanimity is not due to lack of consideration, (7) his motivation never falters, (8) his endeavor never fails, (9) his mindfulness never falters, (10) he never abandons his concentration, (11) his insight (prajñā) never decreases, (12) his liberation never fails, (13) all his physical actions are preceded and followed by wisdom (jñāna), (14) all his verbal actions are preceded and followed by wisdom, (15) all his mental actions are preceded and followed by wisdom, (16) his wisdom and vision perceive the past without attachment or hindrance, (17) his wisdom and vision perceive the future without attachment or hindrance, and (18) his wisdom and vision perceive the present without attachment or hindrance.

Located in 18 passages in the translation:

  • i.­53
  • i.­84
  • 1.­4
  • 2.­8
  • 4.­477
  • 4.­486
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­589
  • 4.­622
  • 4.­639
  • 4.­787
  • 4.­1012
  • 4.­1033
  • 5.­207
  • 5.­570
  • n.­1556
  • g.­29
  • g.­72
g.­81

eighteen emptinesses

Wylie:
  • stong pa nyid bco brgyad
Tibetan:
  • སྟོང་པ་ཉིད་བཅོ་བརྒྱད།
Sanskrit:
  • aṣṭā­daśa­śūnyatā

These are enumerated as: (1) inner emptiness, (2) outer emptiness, (3) inner and outer emptiness, (4) the emptiness of emptiness, (5) great emptiness, (6) the emptiness of ultimate reality, (7) the emptiness of the compounded, (8) the emptiness of the uncompounded, (9) the emptiness of what transcends limits, (10) the emptiness of no beginning and no end, (11) the emptiness of nonrepudiation, (12) the emptiness of a basic nature, (13) the emptiness of all dharmas, (14) the emptiness of its own mark, (15) the emptiness of not apprehending, (16) the emptiness of a nonexistent thing, (17) the emptiness of an intrinsic nature, and (18) the emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature.

Located in 20 passages in the translation:

  • n.­1311
  • g.­87
  • g.­88
  • g.­89
  • g.­90
  • g.­91
  • g.­92
  • g.­93
  • g.­94
  • g.­95
  • g.­96
  • g.­97
  • g.­98
  • g.­99
  • g.­100
  • g.­149
  • g.­165
  • g.­177
  • g.­178
  • g.­236
g.­82

eightfold noble path

Wylie:
  • ’phags pa’i lam yan lag brgyad
Tibetan:
  • འཕགས་པའི་ལམ་ཡན་ལག་བརྒྱད།
Sanskrit:
  • āryāṣṭāṅgamārga

The noble eightfold path comprises (1) right view, (2) right idea, (3) right speech, (4) right conduct, (5) right livelihood, (6) right effort, (7) right mindfulness, and (8) right meditative stabilization.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­886
  • 4.­899
  • g.­226
  • g.­346
g.­83

elder

Wylie:
  • gnas brtan
Tibetan:
  • གནས་བརྟན།
Sanskrit:
  • sthavira

Literally “one who is stable” and usually translated as “elder,” a senior monk in the early Buddhist communities. Pali: thera.

Located in 123 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­5
  • 2.­3-4
  • 2.­14
  • 2.­17
  • 3.­1
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­323
  • 4.­372
  • 4.­377
  • 4.­401-402
  • 4.­404
  • 4.­407
  • 4.­411-412
  • 4.­414
  • 4.­438
  • 4.­454
  • 4.­456
  • 4.­460-461
  • 4.­463-464
  • 4.­489-490
  • 4.­492
  • 4.­494-497
  • 4.­500
  • 4.­503
  • 4.­603-604
  • 4.­633
  • 4.­679
  • 4.­708-711
  • 4.­730
  • 4.­734
  • 4.­739
  • 4.­742
  • 4.­759
  • 4.­770
  • 4.­774
  • 4.­776
  • 4.­782
  • 4.­786
  • 4.­1174
  • 4.­1232
  • 4.­1294-1295
  • 4.­1311
  • 4.­1319
  • 4.­1327
  • 4.­1331-1332
  • 4.­1336
  • 4.­1340
  • 5.­5
  • 5.­68-69
  • 5.­71
  • 5.­74
  • 5.­76
  • 5.­91
  • 5.­105
  • 5.­111-112
  • 5.­204
  • 5.­207
  • 5.­219
  • 5.­223
  • 5.­230
  • 5.­279
  • 5.­308
  • 5.­324
  • 5.­329
  • 5.­343
  • 5.­373
  • 5.­424
  • 5.­531
  • 5.­542
  • 5.­576
  • 5.­589
  • 5.­591-592
  • 5.­594
  • 5.­602
  • 5.­617
  • 5.­622
  • 5.­625-627
  • 5.­634
  • 5.­644-645
  • 5.­979-982
  • 5.­984-985
  • 5.­987
  • 5.­990-991
  • 5.­993
  • 5.­995
  • 5.­1002
  • 5.­1236
  • 5.­1366
  • 5.­1372
  • 5.­1377
  • 5.­1435
  • 5.­1437
  • 5.­1439
  • n.­457
  • n.­1455
  • n.­1485
  • n.­1588
g.­84

element

Wylie:
  • khams
  • dbyings
Tibetan:
  • ཁམས།
  • དབྱིངས།
Sanskrit:
  • dhātu

Also rendered here as “constituent.”

Located in 67 passages in the translation:

  • i.­44
  • 1.­5
  • 1.­91
  • 1.­93
  • 4.­100
  • 4.­119
  • 4.­429
  • 4.­454
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­521
  • 4.­530
  • 4.­694-695
  • 4.­827
  • 4.­977
  • 4.­979-981
  • 4.­1033
  • 4.­1151-1152
  • 4.­1183
  • 4.­1201
  • 4.­1205
  • 4.­1217
  • 5.­477
  • 5.­509
  • 5.­603
  • 5.­606
  • 5.­608
  • 5.­612
  • 5.­853
  • 5.­946-947
  • 5.­1111
  • 5.­1133
  • 5.­1144
  • 5.­1158
  • 5.­1377
  • 6.­23-25
  • 6.­27-31
  • 6.­35
  • n.­309
  • n.­392
  • n.­404
  • n.­767
  • n.­840
  • n.­1283
  • n.­1384
  • n.­1468
  • n.­1521
  • n.­1548
  • n.­1708
  • n.­1950-1953
  • g.­45
  • g.­66
  • g.­127
  • g.­342
g.­85

eleven knowledges

Wylie:
  • shes pa bcu gcig
Tibetan:
  • ཤེས་པ་བཅུ་གཅིག
Sanskrit:
  • ekādaśa­jñāna

Knowledge of suffering, knowledge of origination, knowledge of cessation, knowledge of the path, knowledge of extinction, knowledge of nonproduction, knowledge of dharma, subsequent realization knowledge, conventional knowledge, knowledge of mastery, and knowledge in accord with sound.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­894
g.­86

emptiness

Wylie:
  • stong pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • śūnyatā

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Emptiness denotes the ultimate nature of reality, the total absence of inherent existence and self-identity with respect to all phenomena. According to this view, all things and events are devoid of any independent, intrinsic reality that constitutes their essence. Nothing can be said to exist independent of the complex network of factors that gives rise to its origination, nor are phenomena independent of the cognitive processes and mental constructs that make up the conventional framework within which their identity and existence are posited. When all levels of conceptualization dissolve and when all forms of dichotomizing tendencies are quelled through deliberate meditative deconstruction of conceptual elaborations, the ultimate nature of reality will finally become manifest. It is the first of the three gateways to liberation.

Located in 264 passages in the translation:

  • i.­44
  • i.­53
  • i.­64
  • i.­66
  • i.­77-78
  • i.­84
  • i.­95
  • i.­108-110
  • i.­117-118
  • 1.­57-58
  • 1.­93
  • 1.­121
  • 3.­9
  • 4.­36-37
  • 4.­50
  • 4.­52
  • 4.­54
  • 4.­79
  • 4.­103-106
  • 4.­109
  • 4.­116
  • 4.­118-120
  • 4.­124
  • 4.­128-129
  • 4.­143
  • 4.­161
  • 4.­190-191
  • 4.­193-200
  • 4.­202
  • 4.­220
  • 4.­248
  • 4.­261
  • 4.­282-287
  • 4.­289-290
  • 4.­292-293
  • 4.­295-296
  • 4.­307
  • 4.­314-315
  • 4.­320
  • 4.­386
  • 4.­389
  • 4.­399
  • 4.­427
  • 4.­462
  • 4.­484-485
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­516
  • 4.­541
  • 4.­546
  • 4.­548-550
  • 4.­558-560
  • 4.­562
  • 4.­570
  • 4.­574
  • 4.­615
  • 4.­623
  • 4.­665
  • 4.­671-672
  • 4.­720
  • 4.­728
  • 4.­764
  • 4.­771
  • 4.­773
  • 4.­787-788
  • 4.­791-794
  • 4.­799
  • 4.­801-802
  • 4.­807
  • 4.­809
  • 4.­813-814
  • 4.­887-888
  • 4.­891
  • 4.­902
  • 4.­967
  • 4.­987
  • 4.­1117-1119
  • 4.­1166
  • 4.­1183
  • 4.­1208
  • 4.­1217
  • 4.­1221-1222
  • 4.­1227
  • 4.­1229-1230
  • 4.­1253
  • 4.­1259
  • 4.­1262
  • 4.­1264
  • 4.­1268
  • 4.­1274-1275
  • 4.­1277
  • 4.­1305
  • 4.­1362
  • 5.­33
  • 5.­59-60
  • 5.­68
  • 5.­93
  • 5.­100-102
  • 5.­105
  • 5.­117
  • 5.­135-136
  • 5.­209
  • 5.­211
  • 5.­306
  • 5.­381
  • 5.­412
  • 5.­414
  • 5.­432
  • 5.­490
  • 5.­507
  • 5.­511
  • 5.­552
  • 5.­554-555
  • 5.­570
  • 5.­574-576
  • 5.­615
  • 5.­661-662
  • 5.­667
  • 5.­849
  • 5.­923
  • 5.­947
  • 5.­949
  • 5.­951
  • 5.­976-978
  • 5.­993-994
  • 5.­1003-1004
  • 5.­1007-1009
  • 5.­1013
  • 5.­1018
  • 5.­1021
  • 5.­1039
  • 5.­1104-1105
  • 5.­1139
  • 5.­1200
  • 5.­1351
  • 5.­1369
  • 5.­1377
  • 5.­1400-1402
  • 5.­1406
  • 5.­1412-1413
  • 5.­1416-1417
  • 5.­1422
  • 5.­1448
  • 5.­1450
  • 5.­1485
  • 5.­1490
  • 5.­1494-1497
  • 6.­4
  • 6.­79
  • n.­90
  • n.­273
  • n.­277
  • n.­314-315
  • n.­344
  • n.­375
  • n.­378
  • n.­400
  • n.­403
  • n.­410
  • n.­417
  • n.­536
  • n.­538
  • n.­544
  • n.­563
  • n.­710
  • n.­758
  • n.­808
  • n.­1083
  • n.­1130
  • n.­1152
  • n.­1241
  • n.­1331
  • n.­1467
  • n.­1492
  • n.­1515-1516
  • n.­1563
  • n.­1588
  • n.­1593
  • n.­1609
  • n.­1639
  • n.­1695
  • n.­1823
  • n.­1921
  • n.­1928
  • n.­1931
  • n.­1934
  • g.­66
  • g.­154
  • g.­179
  • g.­290
  • g.­320
  • g.­364
  • g.­389
  • g.­390
g.­87

emptiness of a basic nature

Wylie:
  • rang bzhin gyi stong pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • རང་བཞིན་གྱི་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • prakṛti­śūnyatā

One of the fourteen emptinesses and eighteen emptinesses.

Located in 22 passages in the translation:

  • i.­117
  • 4.­145
  • 4.­569-570
  • 4.­802
  • 4.­1305
  • 5.­416
  • 5.­1399-1400
  • 5.­1402
  • 5.­1407-1408
  • 5.­1411-1414
  • 5.­1416
  • n.­1552
  • n.­1859
  • n.­1865
  • g.­81
  • g.­149
g.­88

emptiness of a nonexistent thing

Wylie:
  • dngos po med pa stong pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • དངོས་པོ་མེད་པ་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • abhāva­śūnyatā

One of the eighteen emptinesses.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • g.­81
g.­89

emptiness of all dharmas

Wylie:
  • chos thams cad stong pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་ཐམས་ཅད་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • sarva­dharma­śūnyatā

One of the fourteen emptinesses and eighteen emptinesses.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • i.­106
  • 4.­149
  • 4.­659
  • 4.­793
  • 5.­102
  • 5.­1449
  • g.­81
  • g.­149
g.­90

emptiness of an intrinsic nature

Wylie:
  • ngo bo nyid stong pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • ངོ་བོ་ཉིད་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • svabhāva­śūnyatā

One of the eighteen emptinesses.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • i.­117
  • 4.­813
  • 4.­1278
  • 5.­226
  • 5.­929
  • 5.­1497
  • g.­81
g.­91

emptiness of emptiness

Wylie:
  • stong pa nyid stong pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • སྟོང་པ་ཉིད་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • śūnyatāśūnyatā

One of the fourteen emptinesses and eighteen emptinesses

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­119
  • 4.­793
  • 4.­1119
  • 5.­414
  • g.­81
  • g.­149
g.­92

emptiness of its own mark

Wylie:
  • rang gi mtshan nyid stong pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • རང་གི་མཚན་ཉིད་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • svalakṣaṇa­śūnyatā

One of the fourteen emptinesses and eighteen emptinesses.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­155
  • 4.­804
  • g.­81
  • g.­149
g.­93

emptiness of no beginning and no end

Wylie:
  • thog ma dang tha ma med pa stong pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • ཐོག་མ་དང་ཐ་མ་མེད་པ་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • anavarāgra­śūnyatā

One of the fourteen emptinesses and eighteen emptinesses.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­138
  • 4.­799-800
  • 5.­328
  • 5.­334
  • 5.­1153
  • 5.­1369
  • g.­81
  • g.­149
g.­94

emptiness of nonrepudiation

Wylie:
  • dor ba med pa stong pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • དོར་བ་མེད་པ་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • anavakāra­śūnyatā

One of the fourteen emptinesses and eighteen emptinesses.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­143
  • 4.­801
  • g.­81
  • g.­149
g.­95

emptiness of not apprehending

Wylie:
  • mi dmigs pa stong pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • མི་དམིགས་པ་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • anupalambha­śūnyatā

One of the eighteen emptinesses.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­157
  • 4.­188
  • 4.­805
  • g.­81
g.­96

emptiness of the compounded

Wylie:
  • ’dus byas stong pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • འདུས་བྱས་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • saṃskṛta­śūnyatā

One of the fourteen emptinesses and eighteen emptinesses.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­128
  • g.­81
  • g.­149
g.­97

emptiness of the uncompounded

Wylie:
  • ’dus ma byas stong pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • འདུས་མ་བྱས་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • asaṃskṛta­śūnyatā

One of the fourteen emptinesses and eighteen emptinesses.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­129
  • 4.­797
  • n.­748
  • g.­81
  • g.­149
g.­98

emptiness of ultimate reality

Wylie:
  • don dam pa stong pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • དོན་དམ་པ་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • paramārtha­śūnyatā

One of the fourteen emptinesses and eighteen emptinesses.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­127
  • 4.­1255
  • n.­745
  • g.­81
  • g.­149
g.­99

emptiness of what transcends limits

Wylie:
  • mtha’ las ’das pa stong pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • མཐའ་ལས་འདས་པ་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • atyanta­śūnyatā

One of the fourteen emptinesses and eighteen emptinesses.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­134
  • 5.­328
  • 5.­1369
  • g.­81
  • g.­149
g.­100

emptiness that is the nonexistence of an intrinsic nature

Wylie:
  • dngos po med pa’i ngo bo nyid stong pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • དངོས་པོ་མེད་པའི་ངོ་བོ་ཉིད་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • abhāva­svabhāva­śūnyatā

One of the eighteen emptinesses.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­566
  • 4.­574
  • 4.­808
  • 5.­91
  • 5.­372
  • n.­347
  • n.­756
  • g.­81
g.­101

enactment

Wylie:
  • mngon par ’du bgyi ba
  • mngon par ’du byed pa
  • mngon par ’du mdzad pa
Tibetan:
  • མངོན་པར་འདུ་བགྱི་བ།
  • མངོན་པར་འདུ་བྱེད་པ།
  • མངོན་པར་འདུ་མཛད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • abhisaṃskāra

Here, to practice an enactment means to get tied up in, or to settle down on, what is not ultimately real as real.

Located in 13 passages in the translation:

  • i.­75
  • 4.­562-564
  • 4.­569
  • 4.­610
  • 4.­612
  • 4.­976
  • 5.­260
  • 5.­263
  • 5.­348
  • 5.­1071
  • n.­548
g.­102

eon conflagration

Wylie:
  • sreg pa’i bskal pa
Tibetan:
  • སྲེག་པའི་བསྐལ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • kalpoddhāha

This refers to the conflagration that is the twentieth of the twenty “sub-eons” making up the third (destruction eon) of the four subdivisions of a “great eon” (mahākalpa). The other three major divisions of a great eon are the eon of arising, of duration, and (after the eon of destruction) of voidness.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­699
g.­103

equanimity

Wylie:
  • btang snyoms
Tibetan:
  • བཏང་སྙོམས།
Sanskrit:
  • upekṣā

The antidote to attachment and aversion; a mental state free from bias toward sentient beings and experiences. One of the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening, one of the four practices of spiritual practitioners, and one of the four immeasurables (the others being loving-kindness or love, compassion, and sympathetic joy).

Located in 25 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­150-151
  • 2.­6
  • 4.­4
  • 4.­10
  • 4.­365
  • 4.­399
  • 4.­872
  • 4.­875
  • 4.­884
  • 4.­917
  • 4.­928-931
  • 4.­933
  • 4.­935
  • 5.­571
  • 6.­12
  • n.­45
  • n.­179
  • n.­181
  • n.­797
  • g.­141
  • g.­291
g.­104

establishment of dharmas

Wylie:
  • chos gnas pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་གནས་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • dharmasthititā

Like “dharma-constituent” (dharmadhātu) and “true nature of dharmas” (dharmatā), a name for the ultimate.

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­510
  • 4.­518
  • 4.­527
  • 4.­534
  • 4.­1183
  • 4.­1217
  • 5.­585
  • 5.­604
  • 5.­607
  • 5.­1170
  • 5.­1402
  • n.­1397
g.­105

existence

Wylie:
  • srid pa
Tibetan:
  • སྲིད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • bhava

Denotes the whole of existence, i.e., the five forms of life or the three planes of existence‍—all the possible kinds and places of karmic rebirth. It is also the tenth of the twelve links of dependent origination (often translated as “becoming”).

Located in 96 passages in the translation:

  • i.­91
  • i.­105
  • 1.­21-24
  • 1.­26
  • 1.­29
  • 1.­36
  • 1.­39
  • 1.­69
  • 1.­75
  • 1.­167-168
  • 1.­188
  • 1.­204-205
  • 1.­211-213
  • 1.­218-219
  • 1.­224
  • 4.­47-48
  • 4.­93
  • 4.­118
  • 4.­120
  • 4.­128
  • 4.­139
  • 4.­146
  • 4.­158
  • 4.­161
  • 4.­216-217
  • 4.­263
  • 4.­472
  • 4.­490
  • 4.­651
  • 4.­682
  • 4.­701
  • 4.­705
  • 4.­720
  • 4.­798
  • 4.­808
  • 4.­876
  • 4.­901
  • 4.­969
  • 4.­983
  • 4.­985
  • 4.­990
  • 4.­993
  • 4.­1048
  • 4.­1162
  • 4.­1179
  • 4.­1330
  • 4.­1346
  • 4.­1351
  • 4.­1358
  • 5.­185
  • 5.­222
  • 5.­283
  • 5.­285
  • 5.­621
  • 5.­889
  • 5.­1031
  • 5.­1057
  • 5.­1358-1359
  • 5.­1384
  • 5.­1415
  • 5.­1417
  • 5.­1446
  • 5.­1494
  • 5.­1497
  • 6.­20
  • 6.­22-23
  • 6.­32
  • 6.­35-36
  • 6.­89
  • 6.­93
  • 6.­100
  • n.­27
  • n.­49
  • n.­51
  • n.­56
  • n.­91
  • n.­328
  • n.­720
  • n.­974
  • n.­1067
  • n.­1281
  • n.­1887
  • n.­1955
g.­106

existent thing

Wylie:
  • dngos po
Tibetan:
  • དངོས་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • bhāva

Also rendered as “real thing,” “something that exists,” and “real basis.”

Located in 61 passages in the translation:

  • i.­101
  • 4.­159-160
  • 4.­706
  • 4.­798
  • 4.­808-810
  • 4.­812
  • 4.­1267
  • 4.­1330
  • 5.­268
  • 5.­409
  • 5.­412
  • 5.­459-460
  • 5.­495
  • 5.­775
  • 5.­821-822
  • 5.­1021
  • 5.­1121
  • 5.­1140
  • 5.­1149
  • 5.­1190
  • 5.­1194-1195
  • 5.­1214
  • 5.­1216
  • 5.­1221
  • 5.­1230-1233
  • 5.­1236
  • 5.­1241
  • 5.­1382
  • 5.­1417
  • 5.­1457
  • 5.­1466-1467
  • 5.­1471
  • 5.­1495
  • 5.­1497
  • 6.­44
  • 6.­81
  • n.­347
  • n.­349-351
  • n.­720
  • n.­743
  • n.­758-759
  • n.­1283
  • n.­1322
  • n.­1491
  • n.­1531
  • n.­1918
  • g.­263
  • g.­264
g.­107

faculty

Wylie:
  • dbang po
Tibetan:
  • དབང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • indriya

See “five faculties” when part of the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening and “six faculties” as in the sense faculties. In some contexts indriya is rendered as “dominant.”

Located in 53 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­4
  • 1.­29
  • 1.­45
  • 1.­78
  • 1.­91
  • 1.­118
  • 1.­123-124
  • 1.­131
  • 1.­208
  • 1.­210
  • 1.­225-226
  • 4.­90-91
  • 4.­171
  • 4.­325-327
  • 4.­364-365
  • 4.­446
  • 4.­555
  • 4.­787
  • 4.­826-827
  • 4.­879
  • 4.­882
  • 4.­908-909
  • 4.­985-988
  • 4.­990
  • 4.­1008
  • 4.­1024
  • 4.­1033
  • 4.­1146
  • 4.­1191
  • 4.­1330
  • 5.­149
  • 5.­634
  • 6.­84
  • 6.­98
  • 6.­101-102
  • n.­845
  • n.­1056
  • n.­1224
  • g.­116
  • g.­288
  • g.­342
g.­109

fearlessness

Wylie:
  • mi ’jigs pa
Tibetan:
  • མི་འཇིགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • vaiśāradya

See “four fearlessnesses” or 1.­31.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­31
  • 1.­88
  • 1.­108-109
  • 4.­589
  • 4.­1002
  • 5.­419
  • 5.­606
  • n.­1334
  • g.­138
g.­110

feeling

Wylie:
  • tshor ba
Tibetan:
  • ཚོར་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • vedanā

The second of the five aggregates: pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral feelings as a result of sensory experiences.

Located in 93 passages in the translation:

  • i.­66
  • 1.­26
  • 4.­150
  • 4.­186
  • 4.­190
  • 4.­204
  • 4.­207
  • 4.­214
  • 4.­277-279
  • 4.­281
  • 4.­284
  • 4.­288
  • 4.­441-444
  • 4.­447
  • 4.­450-453
  • 4.­460
  • 4.­541
  • 4.­552
  • 4.­567
  • 4.­571
  • 4.­580
  • 4.­624
  • 4.­678
  • 4.­691
  • 4.­693
  • 4.­702
  • 4.­741
  • 4.­778
  • 4.­781
  • 4.­818
  • 4.­823-828
  • 4.­836
  • 4.­930
  • 4.­934
  • 4.­946
  • 4.­1204
  • 4.­1217
  • 4.­1254
  • 4.­1258
  • 4.­1292-1293
  • 5.­158-159
  • 5.­207
  • 5.­247
  • 5.­298
  • 5.­306
  • 5.­392
  • 5.­483
  • 5.­576
  • 5.­933
  • 5.­1014
  • 5.­1096
  • 5.­1124
  • 5.­1189
  • 5.­1231
  • 5.­1293
  • 5.­1364-1366
  • 6.­5
  • 6.­12
  • 6.­16
  • 6.­18
  • 6.­43
  • 6.­47
  • 6.­52
  • 6.­58
  • n.­52
  • n.­72
  • n.­774
  • n.­1275
  • n.­1330
  • n.­1387
  • n.­1887
  • n.­1942
  • n.­1957
  • g.­4
  • g.­133
  • g.­297
g.­111

five aggregates

Wylie:
  • phung po lnga
Tibetan:
  • ཕུང་པོ་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañca­skandha

See “aggregate.”

Located in 33 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­23
  • 4.­139
  • 4.­190
  • 4.­440
  • 4.­454
  • 4.­541
  • 4.­624
  • 4.­665
  • 4.­691-693
  • 4.­697-699
  • 4.­783
  • 4.­1346
  • 5.­207
  • 5.­465
  • 5.­481
  • 5.­1154
  • n.­55
  • n.­120
  • n.­345
  • n.­381
  • n.­1063
  • g.­44
  • g.­110
  • g.­112
  • g.­127
  • g.­180
  • g.­201
  • g.­243
  • g.­387
g.­112

five appropriating aggregates

Wylie:
  • nye bar len pa’i phung po lnga
Tibetan:
  • ཉེ་བར་ལེན་པའི་ཕུང་པོ་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañcopādāna­skandha

This refers to the five aggregates as the bases upon which a nonexistent self is mistakenly projected. That is, they are the basis of “appropriation” (upādāna) insofar as all grasping arises on the basis of the aggregates.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­510
  • 4.­898
  • 5.­863
  • n.­1549
g.­113

five clairvoyances

Wylie:
  • mngon par shes pa lnga
Tibetan:
  • མངོན་པར་ཤེས་པ་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañcābhijñā

See “clairvoyances.”

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­57
  • n.­1765
  • g.­122
g.­115

five eyes

Wylie:
  • mig lnga
Tibetan:
  • མིག་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañca­cakṣus

The flesh eye, divine eye, wisdom eye, dharma eye, and buddha eye.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • i.­67
  • 4.­510
  • 5.­66
  • 5.­479
  • 5.­756
  • n.­1241
g.­116

five faculties

Wylie:
  • dbang po lnga
Tibetan:
  • དབང་པོ་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañcendriya

The faculties of faith, perseverance, mindfulness, meditative stabilization, and wisdom. They are the same as the five powers, only at a lesser stage of development. See also 4.­882.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • g.­107
  • g.­120
  • g.­246
  • g.­346
g.­117

five forms of life

Wylie:
  • ’gro ba lnga
  • ’gro ba lnga po
  • ’gro ba rnam pa lnga
Tibetan:
  • འགྲོ་བ་ལྔ།
  • འགྲོ་བ་ལྔ་པོ།
  • འགྲོ་བ་རྣམ་པ་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañcagati

These comprise the gods and humans in the higher realms within saṃsāra, plus the animals, ghosts, and denizens of hell in the lower realms.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­1333
  • 5.­901
  • 5.­903
  • 5.­1057-1058
  • 5.­1383
  • n.­1875
  • n.­1891
  • g.­105
g.­120

five powers

Wylie:
  • stobs lnga
Tibetan:
  • སྟོབས་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañcabala

Faith, perseverance, mindfulness, meditative stabilization, and wisdom. These are among the thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening. Although the same as the five faculties, they are termed “powers” due to their greater strength (on their difference, see 4.­882). See also “ten powers.”

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • g.­116
  • g.­246
  • g.­248
  • g.­342
  • g.­346
g.­121

five sorts of sense object

Wylie:
  • ’dod pa’i yon tan lnga
Tibetan:
  • འདོད་པའི་ཡོན་ཏན་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañcakāmaguṇa

Desirable objects of the five senses: form, sound, smell, taste, and touch.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­71
  • 4.­178-179
  • 4.­1346
  • 4.­1350
  • 4.­1355
g.­122

five undiminished clairvoyances

Wylie:
  • ma nyams pa’i mngon par shes pa lnga
Tibetan:
  • མ་ཉམས་པའི་མངོན་པར་ཤེས་པ་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

The five clairvoyances are called “undiminished” when they don’t decline at death and in all subsequent rebirths, whatever the form of life. See 4.­57.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­57
g.­123

flawlessness

Wylie:
  • skyon med pa
Tibetan:
  • སྐྱོན་མེད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • nyāma

This word is also understood as equivalent to niyāma (“certain”).

Located in 20 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­161
  • 4.­88
  • 4.­483
  • 4.­519
  • 5.­8
  • 5.­609-610
  • 5.­840
  • 5.­1222
  • n.­301-302
  • n.­305
  • n.­427
  • n.­497
  • n.­827
  • n.­1081
  • n.­1470-1472
  • n.­1544
g.­125

forbearance

Wylie:
  • bzod pa
Tibetan:
  • བཟོད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • kṣānti

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A term meaning acceptance, forbearance, or patience. As the third of the six perfections, patience is classified into three kinds: the capacity to tolerate abuse from sentient beings, to tolerate the hardships of the path to buddhahood, and to tolerate the profound nature of reality. As a term referring to a bodhisattva’s realization, dharmakṣānti (chos la bzod pa) can refer to the ways one becomes “receptive” to the nature of Dharma, and it can be an abbreviation of anutpattikadharmakṣānti, “forbearance for the unborn nature, or nonproduction, of dharmas.”

In this text:

Also rendered here as “patience.”

Located in 36 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­43-44
  • 1.­48
  • 1.­51
  • 1.­56
  • 1.­58-59
  • 1.­69
  • 1.­86-88
  • 1.­90
  • 1.­97
  • 1.­125
  • 1.­210-211
  • 4.­341
  • 4.­404
  • 4.­671
  • 4.­750
  • 4.­882
  • 4.­967
  • 4.­1035
  • 4.­1039-1040
  • 4.­1134
  • 4.­1345
  • 5.­75
  • 5.­529
  • 5.­1072
  • n.­295
  • n.­1064
  • n.­1110
  • n.­1501
  • n.­1543
  • g.­242
g.­126

forbearance for the nonproduction of dharmas

Wylie:
  • mi skye ba’i chos la bzod pa
Tibetan:
  • མི་སྐྱེ་བའི་ཆོས་ལ་བཟོད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • anutpattika­dharma­kṣānti

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The bodhisattvas’ realization that all phenomena are unproduced and empty. It sustains them on the difficult path of benefiting all beings so that they do not succumb to the goal of personal liberation. Different sources link this realization to the first or eighth bodhisattva level (bhūmi).

Located in 16 passages in the translation:

  • i.­66
  • 1.­87-88
  • 1.­93
  • 4.­317
  • 4.­319
  • 4.­971
  • 4.­985
  • 4.­1316
  • 5.­529
  • 5.­634
  • 5.­837
  • 5.­1040
  • n.­98
  • n.­424
  • n.­1543
g.­127

form

Wylie:
  • gzugs
Tibetan:
  • གཟུགས།
Sanskrit:
  • rūpa

The first of the five aggregates: the subtle and manifest forms derived from the material elements.

Located in 47 passages in the translation:

  • i.­66
  • 4.­207
  • 4.­214
  • 4.­277-279
  • 4.­281
  • 4.­288
  • 4.­441-444
  • 4.­451-453
  • 4.­460
  • 4.­541
  • 4.­567
  • 4.­580
  • 4.­678
  • 4.­691
  • 4.­693
  • 4.­702
  • 4.­741
  • 4.­781
  • 4.­1254
  • 4.­1258
  • 5.­207
  • 5.­576
  • 5.­933
  • 5.­1096
  • 5.­1124
  • 5.­1189
  • 5.­1231
  • 5.­1364-1366
  • 6.­5
  • 6.­16
  • 6.­18
  • 6.­43
  • 6.­58
  • n.­1330
  • n.­1387
  • n.­1942
  • n.­1957
  • g.­4
g.­128

form body

Wylie:
  • gzugs kyi sku
Tibetan:
  • གཟུགས་ཀྱི་སྐུ།
Sanskrit:
  • rūpa­kāya

The visible form of a buddha that is perceived by other beings, in contrast to his “dharma body,” the dharmakāya, which is the eternal, imperceptible realization of a buddha.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­3
  • 1.­17
  • 4.­97
  • 4.­171
  • 5.­168
  • 5.­1439
  • n.­1193
  • g.­63
g.­129

form realm

Wylie:
  • gzugs kyi khams
Tibetan:
  • གཟུགས་ཀྱི་ཁམས།
Sanskrit:
  • rūpa­dhātu

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the three realms of saṃsāra in Buddhist cosmology, it is characterized by subtle materiality. Here beings, though subtly embodied, are not driven primarily by the urge for sense gratification. It consists of seventeen heavens structured according to the four concentrations of the form realm (rūpāvacaradhyāna), the highest five of which are collectively called “pure abodes” (śuddhāvāsa). The form realm is located above the desire realm (kāmadhātu) and below the formless realm (ārūpya­dhātu).

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­91
  • 4.­471
  • 4.­701
  • 4.­978
  • 4.­983
  • 4.­990
  • 4.­1175
  • 5.­316
  • g.­26
  • g.­134
  • g.­222
  • g.­353
g.­130

formless absorption

Wylie:
  • gzugs med pa’i snyoms par ’jug pa
Tibetan:
  • གཟུགས་མེད་པའི་སྙོམས་པར་འཇུག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • ārūpya­samāpatti

See “four formless absorptions.”

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­336
  • 4.­497
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­946
  • n.­75
  • n.­288
  • g.­313
g.­131

formless realm

Wylie:
  • gzugs med pa’i khams
Tibetan:
  • གཟུགས་མེད་པའི་ཁམས།
Sanskrit:
  • ārūpya­dhātu

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The highest and subtlest of the three realms of saṃsāra in Buddhist cosmology. Here beings are no longer bound by materiality and enjoy a purely mental state of absorption. It is divided in four levels according to each of the four formless concentrations (ārūpyāvacaradhyāna), namely, the Sphere of Infinite Space (ākāśānantyāyatana), the Sphere of Infinite Consciousness (vijñānānantyāyatana), the Sphere of Nothingness (a­kiñ­canyāyatana), and the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-perception (naiva­saṃjñā­nāsaṃjñāyatana). The formless realm is located above the other two realms of saṃsāra, the form realm (rūpadhātu) and the desire realm (kāmadhātu).

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­91
  • 1.­151
  • 1.­208
  • 1.­219
  • 4.­255
  • 4.­471
  • 4.­978
  • 4.­983
  • 4.­990
  • 5.­316
  • n.­277
  • g.­26
  • g.­314
  • g.­315
  • g.­316
  • g.­317
  • g.­353
g.­132

Fortunate Eon

Wylie:
  • bskal pa bzang po
Tibetan:
  • བསྐལ་པ་བཟང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • bhadrakalpa

The name of the current eon, so-called because one thousand buddhas are prophesied to appear during this time.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­327
  • 4.­342
g.­133

four applications of mindfulness

Wylie:
  • dran pa nye bar gzhag pa bzhi
Tibetan:
  • དྲན་པ་ཉེ་བར་གཞག་པ་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • catuḥsmṛtyupasthāna

The application of mindfulness to the body, the application of mindfulness to feeling, the application of mindfulness to mind, and the application of mindfulness to dharmas.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­8
  • 4.­26
  • 4.­32
  • 4.­818-820
  • 4.­839
  • g.­8
  • g.­346
g.­134

four concentrations

Wylie:
  • bsam gtan bzhi
Tibetan:
  • བསམ་གཏན་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • caturdhyāna

The four progressive levels of concentration of the form realm that culminate in pure one-pointedness of mind and are the basis for developing insight. These are part of the nine serial absorptions.

Located in 13 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­8
  • 4.­9
  • 4.­40
  • 4.­336
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­921
  • 4.­992
  • 5.­825
  • n.­72
  • n.­236
  • n.­740
  • g.­139
  • g.­222
g.­136

four detailed and thorough knowledges

Wylie:
  • so so yang dag par rig pa bzhi
Tibetan:
  • སོ་སོ་ཡང་དག་པར་རིག་པ་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • catuḥpratisaṃvid

The knowledge of the meaning, the knowledge of phenomena, the knowledge of interpretation, and the knowledge of eloquence.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • i.­53
  • 1.­105-106
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­787
  • g.­29
g.­138

four fearlessnesses

Wylie:
  • mi ’jigs pa bzhi
Tibetan:
  • མི་འཇིགས་པ་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • caturvaiśāradya

The four fearlessnesses are the confidence to make the declaration, “I am a buddha”; the declaration that “greed and so on are obstacles to awakening”; the confidence to explain “bodhisattvas go forth on the paths of all-knowledge and so on”; and the declaration, “the outflows are extinguished.”

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­4
  • 1.­91
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­517
  • 4.­787
  • 4.­998
  • n.­113
  • n.­1334
  • n.­1516
  • g.­29
  • g.­109
g.­139

four form concentrations

Wylie:
  • gzugs kyi bsam gtan bzhi
Tibetan:
  • གཟུགས་ཀྱི་བསམ་གཏན་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • —

See “four concentrations.”

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­760
g.­140

four formless absorptions

Wylie:
  • gzugs med pa’i snyoms par ’jug pa bzhi
Tibetan:
  • གཟུགས་མེད་པའི་སྙོམས་པར་འཇུག་པ་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • caturārūpya­samāpatti

These comprise the absorptions of (1) the station of endless space, (2) the station of endless consciousness, (3) the station of the nothing-at-all absorption, and (4) the station of neither perception nor nonperception.

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­16
  • 4.­760
  • 4.­936
  • 4.­992
  • n.­72
  • n.­274
  • n.­740
  • g.­130
  • g.­222
  • g.­288
  • g.­314
  • g.­315
  • g.­316
  • g.­317
g.­141

four immeasurables

Wylie:
  • tshad med pa bzhi
Tibetan:
  • ཚད་མེད་པ་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • caturapramāṇa

The four positive qualities of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity, which may be radiated towards oneself and then immeasurable sentient beings.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­65
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­760
  • 4.­913
  • n.­274
  • n.­740
  • g.­103
  • g.­175
g.­142

Four legs of miraculous power

Wylie:
  • rdzu ’phrul gyi rkang pa bzhi
Tibetan:
  • རྫུ་འཕྲུལ་གྱི་རྐང་པ་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • caturṛddhipāda

The four are desire-to-do (or yearning) (chanda), perseverance (vīrya), concentrated mind (citta), and examination (mīmāṃsā).

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­868
  • 5.­67
  • g.­192
  • g.­246
  • g.­346
g.­145

four noble truths

Wylie:
  • ’phags pa’i bden pa bzhi
Tibetan:
  • འཕགས་པའི་བདེན་པ་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • caturāryasatya

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The four truths that the Buddha transmitted in his first teaching: (1) suffering, (2) the origin of suffering, (3) the cessation of suffering, and (4) the path to the cessation of suffering.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­426
  • 4.­967
  • 5.­1235
  • n.­1895
  • g.­57
  • g.­147
  • g.­227
g.­146

four right efforts

Wylie:
  • yang dag pa’i spong ba bzhi
Tibetan:
  • ཡང་དག་པའི་སྤོང་བ་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • catuḥsamyakprahāṇa

Four types of effort consisting in abandoning existing negative mind states, abandoning the production of such states, giving rise to virtuous mind states that are not yet produced, and letting those states continue.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­871
  • 4.­874
  • g.­266
  • g.­346
g.­148

four ways of gathering a retinue

Wylie:
  • bsdu ba’i dngos po bzhi
Tibetan:
  • བསྡུ་བའི་དངོས་པོ་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • catuḥsaṃgrahavastu

Giving gifts, kind words, beneficial actions, and consistency between words and deeds.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­80
  • 5.­1287
  • 5.­1290
  • n.­365
  • n.­1814
g.­149

fourteen emptinesses

Wylie:
  • stong pa nyid bcu bzhi po
Tibetan:
  • སྟོང་པ་ཉིད་བཅུ་བཞི་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • catur­daśa­śūnyatā

These comprise the first fourteen of the eighteen emptinesses: (1) inner emptiness, (2) outer emptiness, (3) inner and outer emptiness, (4) the emptiness of emptiness, (5) great emptiness, (6) the emptiness of ultimate reality, (7) the emptiness of the compounded, (8) the emptiness of the uncompounded, (9) the emptiness of what transcends limits, (10) the emptiness of no beginning and no end, (11) the emptiness of nonrepudiation, (12) the emptiness of a basic nature, (13) the emptiness of all dharmas, and (14) the emptiness of its own mark.

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • g.­87
  • g.­89
  • g.­91
  • g.­92
  • g.­93
  • g.­94
  • g.­96
  • g.­97
  • g.­98
  • g.­99
  • g.­165
  • g.­177
  • g.­178
  • g.­236
g.­150

gandharva

Wylie:
  • dri za
Tibetan:
  • དྲི་ཟ།
Sanskrit:
  • gandharva

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies, sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are ruled by the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the mental body assumed by sentient beings during the intermediate state between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances (gandha) in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning “scent eater.”

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­72-73
  • 1.­118
  • 4.­119
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­526
  • 4.­534
  • 4.­1009
  • n.­319
g.­151

Gaṅgā River

Wylie:
  • gang gA’i klung
Tibetan:
  • གང་གཱའི་ཀླུང་།
Sanskrit:
  • gaṅgā

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Gaṅgā, or Ganges in English, is considered to be the most sacred river of India, particularly within the Hindu tradition. It starts in the Himalayas, flows through the northern plains of India, bathing the holy city of Vārāṇasī, and meets the sea at the Bay of Bengal, in Bangladesh. In the sūtras, however, this river is mostly mentioned not for its sacredness but for its abundant sands‍—noticeable still today on its many sandy banks and at its delta‍—which serve as a common metaphor for infinitely large numbers.

According to Buddhist cosmology, as explained in the Abhidharmakośa, it is one of the four rivers that flow from Lake Anavatapta and cross the southern continent of Jambudvīpa‍—the known human world or more specifically the Indian subcontinent.

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • i.­97
  • 1.­133
  • 1.­147
  • 4.­233
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­1023
  • 5.­127
  • 5.­146
  • 5.­168
  • 5.­237-238
  • 5.­937
  • n.­1492
  • n.­1814
g.­154

gateway to liberation

Wylie:
  • rnam par thar pa’i sgo
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་པར་ཐར་པའི་སྒོ།
Sanskrit:
  • vimokṣa­mukha

A set of three points associated with the nature of phenomena that when contemplated and integrated lead to liberation. The three are emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness.

Also rendered here as “doors to liberation.”

Located in 18 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­57-58
  • 1.­69
  • 4.­52
  • 4.­289
  • 4.­425
  • 4.­427
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­887
  • 4.­891-893
  • 5.­1002
  • n.­409
  • n.­474
  • g.­74
  • g.­350
  • g.­390
g.­155

ghost

Wylie:
  • yi dwags
Tibetan:
  • ཡི་དྭགས།
Sanskrit:
  • preta

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the five or six classes of sentient beings, into which beings are born as the karmic fruition of past miserliness. As the term in Sanskrit means “the departed,” they are analogous to the ancestral spirits of Vedic tradition, the pitṛs, who starve without the offerings of descendants. It is also commonly translated as “hungry ghost” or “starving spirit,” as in the Chinese 餓鬼 e gui.

They are sometimes said to reside in the realm of Yama, but are also frequently described as roaming charnel grounds and other inhospitable or frightening places along with piśācas and other such beings. They are particularly known to suffer from great hunger and thirst and the inability to acquire sustenance. Detailed descriptions of their realm and experience, including a list of the thirty-six classes of pretas, can be found in The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma, Toh 287, 2.­1281– 2.1482.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­72
  • 1.­76
  • 1.­91
  • 1.­167
  • 1.­187
  • 4.­55
  • 4.­1009
  • 5.­149
  • g.­117
g.­156

giving

Wylie:
  • sbyin pa
Tibetan:
  • སྦྱིན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • dāna

The first of the six perfections. Also translated here as “generosity.”

Located in 150 passages in the translation:

  • i.­97
  • i.­115
  • i.­117
  • 1.­48
  • 1.­70
  • 1.­105
  • 1.­107
  • 1.­109
  • 1.­112
  • 1.­116
  • 1.­124
  • 1.­171
  • 1.­213
  • 3.­10
  • 4.­13-19
  • 4.­22
  • 4.­60
  • 4.­93
  • 4.­95-96
  • 4.­168
  • 4.­301
  • 4.­308
  • 4.­320
  • 4.­322
  • 4.­366-368
  • 4.­386
  • 4.­390
  • 4.­393-394
  • 4.­396
  • 4.­437
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­628
  • 4.­671
  • 4.­747-752
  • 4.­754-757
  • 4.­762
  • 4.­771-772
  • 4.­950
  • 4.­986
  • 4.­1010-1011
  • 4.­1100
  • 4.­1111
  • 4.­1168
  • 4.­1228-1229
  • 4.­1234
  • 4.­1247
  • 4.­1261
  • 5.­130
  • 5.­147
  • 5.­154
  • 5.­158
  • 5.­164
  • 5.­174
  • 5.­205-206
  • 5.­247
  • 5.­254
  • 5.­303
  • 5.­369
  • 5.­417
  • 5.­511
  • 5.­537
  • 5.­570
  • 5.­634
  • 5.­654
  • 5.­679-681
  • 5.­685
  • 5.­690
  • 5.­695
  • 5.­700
  • 5.­705
  • 5.­713
  • 5.­727
  • 5.­753
  • 5.­791
  • 5.­798
  • 5.­831-832
  • 5.­834-835
  • 5.­846
  • 5.­876
  • 5.­981
  • 5.­991
  • 5.­993
  • 5.­1011
  • 5.­1083
  • 5.­1094-1095
  • 5.­1206
  • 5.­1214-1217
  • 5.­1279
  • 5.­1288
  • 5.­1302
  • 5.­1312
  • 5.­1323
  • 5.­1361
  • 5.­1424
  • 5.­1463-1466
  • 6.­15
  • 6.­93
  • n.­264
  • n.­309
  • n.­433
  • n.­693
  • n.­706
  • n.­758
  • n.­904
  • n.­1042
  • n.­1274
  • n.­1421
  • n.­1503
  • n.­1520
  • n.­1530
  • n.­1773
  • n.­1807
  • n.­1814
  • g.­119
  • g.­148
  • g.­299
  • g.­345
g.­157

go forth

Wylie:
  • nges par ’byung
Tibetan:
  • ངེས་པར་འབྱུང་།
Sanskrit:
  • nir√yā

Located in 49 passages in the translation:

  • i.­83
  • i.­86-87
  • 1.­110
  • 2.­11
  • 4.­406
  • 4.­501-502
  • 4.­519
  • 4.­535
  • 4.­539-540
  • 4.­594-595
  • 4.­606-608
  • 4.­623-624
  • 4.­657-661
  • 4.­663-664
  • 4.­678
  • 4.­1140-1141
  • 4.­1147-1150
  • 4.­1161-1162
  • 4.­1168-1169
  • 4.­1174-1175
  • 4.­1233
  • 5.­627
  • n.­113
  • n.­513
  • n.­549
  • n.­738
  • n.­893
  • n.­933
  • n.­935
  • g.­138
g.­158

go forth to homelessness

Wylie:
  • rab tu ’byung
  • khyim nas mngon par byung
Tibetan:
  • རབ་ཏུ་འབྱུང་།
  • ཁྱིམ་ནས་མངོན་པར་བྱུང་།
Sanskrit:
  • pra√vṛt
  • pravrajyā

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Sanskrit pravrajyā literally means “going forth,” with the sense of leaving the life of a householder and embracing the life of a renunciant. When the term is applied more technically, it refers to the act of becoming a male novice (śrāmaṇera; dge tshul) or female novice (śrāmaṇerikā; dge tshul ma), this being a first stage leading to full ordination.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­20
  • 5.­1280
g.­159

god

Wylie:
  • lha
  • lha’i bu
Tibetan:
  • ལྷ།
  • ལྷའི་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • deva

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In the most general sense the devas‍—the term is cognate with the English divine‍—are a class of celestial beings who frequently appear in Buddhist texts, often at the head of the assemblies of nonhuman beings who attend and celebrate the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni and other buddhas and bodhisattvas. In Buddhist cosmology the devas occupy the highest of the five or six “destinies” (gati) of saṃsāra among which beings take rebirth. The devas reside in the devalokas, “heavens” that traditionally number between twenty-six and twenty-eight and are divided between the desire realm (kāmadhātu), form realm (rūpadhātu), and formless realm (ārūpyadhātu). A being attains rebirth among the devas either through meritorious deeds (in the desire realm) or the attainment of subtle meditative states (in the form and formless realms). While rebirth among the devas is considered favorable, it is ultimately a transitory state from which beings will fall when the conditions that lead to rebirth there are exhausted. Thus, rebirth in the god realms is regarded as a diversion from the spiritual path.

Located in 94 passages in the translation:

  • i.­58
  • i.­96
  • 1.­16
  • 1.­24
  • 1.­29
  • 1.­72-73
  • 1.­88
  • 1.­174
  • 1.­176
  • 2.­14
  • 4.­55
  • 4.­179
  • 4.­325-326
  • 4.­329
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­678
  • 4.­701
  • 4.­880
  • 4.­907
  • 4.­999
  • 4.­1009
  • 4.­1014
  • 4.­1169
  • 4.­1174
  • 4.­1182
  • 4.­1184-1185
  • 5.­3
  • 5.­5
  • 5.­70-71
  • 5.­73-74
  • 5.­76-77
  • 5.­92
  • 5.­110-111
  • 5.­132
  • 5.­137
  • 5.­140
  • 5.­146
  • 5.­150
  • 5.­158-160
  • 5.­165
  • 5.­240
  • 5.­490
  • 5.­498-499
  • 5.­507
  • 5.­511
  • 5.­532
  • 5.­578
  • 5.­596
  • 5.­598-600
  • 5.­619-620
  • 5.­1058
  • 5.­1071
  • 5.­1249
  • 5.­1293
  • 5.­1415
  • 6.­15
  • n.­288
  • n.­738
  • n.­1110
  • n.­1120
  • n.­1155
  • n.­1180
  • n.­1183
  • n.­1623
  • n.­1689
  • n.­1712
  • n.­1786
  • g.­26
  • g.­117
  • g.­181
  • g.­201
  • g.­219
  • g.­221
  • g.­239
  • g.­314
  • g.­315
  • g.­316
  • g.­317
  • g.­360
  • g.­366
  • g.­378
g.­161

Gotra level

Wylie:
  • rigs kyi sa
Tibetan:
  • རིགས་ཀྱི་ས།
Sanskrit:
  • gotrabhūmi

Lit. “Lineage level.” The second of the ten levels traversed by all practitioners, from the leve of an ordinary person until reaching buddhahood. See “ten levels.”

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­712
  • 4.­1134
  • 4.­1167
  • 4.­1183
  • 4.­1186
  • 4.­1210
  • 5.­956
  • 5.­1455
  • g.­340
g.­163

great being

Wylie:
  • sems dpa’ chen po
Tibetan:
  • སེམས་དཔའ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahāsattva

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The term can be understood to mean “great courageous one” or "great hero,” or (from the Sanskrit) simply “great being,” and is almost always found as an epithet of “bodhisattva.” The qualification “great” in this term, according to the majority of canonical definitions, focuses on the generic greatness common to all bodhisattvas, i.e., the greatness implicit in the bodhisattva vow itself in terms of outlook, aspiration, number of beings to be benefited, potential or eventual accomplishments, and so forth. In this sense the mahā- (“great”) is close in its connotations to the mahā- in “Mahāyāna.” While individual bodhisattvas described as mahāsattva may in many cases also be “great” in terms of their level of realization, this is largely coincidental, and in the canonical texts the epithet is not restricted to bodhisattvas at any particular point in their career. Indeed, in a few cases even bodhisattvas whose path has taken a wrong direction are still described as bodhisattva mahāsattva.

Later commentarial writings do nevertheless define the term‍—variably‍—in terms of bodhisattvas having attained a particular level (bhūmi) or realization. The most common qualifying criteria mentioned are attaining the path of seeing, attaining irreversibility (according to its various definitions), or attaining the seventh bhūmi.

In this text:

This term is explained in 3.­5.

Located in 379 passages in the translation:

  • i.­49
  • i.­61
  • i.­82
  • i.­93
  • i.­108
  • i.­117
  • 1.­41
  • 1.­45
  • 1.­48
  • 1.­94
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­3-4
  • 2.­6-14
  • 3.­1-2
  • 3.­5
  • 4.­1-2
  • 4.­4-5
  • 4.­8
  • 4.­26
  • 4.­54
  • 4.­70
  • 4.­96
  • 4.­168
  • 4.­172
  • 4.­184
  • 4.­186-187
  • 4.­212
  • 4.­218-219
  • 4.­221
  • 4.­247-248
  • 4.­251-252
  • 4.­258
  • 4.­301
  • 4.­308
  • 4.­310
  • 4.­316
  • 4.­319
  • 4.­321
  • 4.­324
  • 4.­341
  • 4.­370-372
  • 4.­375-377
  • 4.­381
  • 4.­386
  • 4.­401-402
  • 4.­404
  • 4.­406-408
  • 4.­410-411
  • 4.­413
  • 4.­415-416
  • 4.­422
  • 4.­424
  • 4.­432
  • 4.­434
  • 4.­437-438
  • 4.­462
  • 4.­468
  • 4.­474
  • 4.­476
  • 4.­502
  • 4.­535-536
  • 4.­538-539
  • 4.­562
  • 4.­568
  • 4.­572
  • 4.­587
  • 4.­590
  • 4.­594-595
  • 4.­607
  • 4.­609
  • 4.­611-612
  • 4.­614
  • 4.­616
  • 4.­622
  • 4.­625
  • 4.­629
  • 4.­666
  • 4.­668
  • 4.­670-671
  • 4.­673
  • 4.­675
  • 4.­677-678
  • 4.­707-708
  • 4.­710-711
  • 4.­725
  • 4.­745
  • 4.­758
  • 4.­760-762
  • 4.­769-771
  • 4.­774
  • 4.­777-778
  • 4.­786
  • 4.­818
  • 4.­887
  • 4.­1041
  • 4.­1092
  • 4.­1095
  • 4.­1111
  • 4.­1223
  • 4.­1231
  • 4.­1233
  • 4.­1240
  • 4.­1244
  • 4.­1246
  • 4.­1278
  • 4.­1294
  • 4.­1296
  • 4.­1316
  • 4.­1363
  • 5.­6
  • 5.­10
  • 5.­12
  • 5.­41
  • 5.­47
  • 5.­68
  • 5.­96
  • 5.­99
  • 5.­105
  • 5.­132
  • 5.­210
  • 5.­218-219
  • 5.­222
  • 5.­272
  • 5.­329
  • 5.­332
  • 5.­337
  • 5.­376
  • 5.­531
  • 5.­539
  • 5.­549
  • 5.­565
  • 5.­569-570
  • 5.­576
  • 5.­623-625
  • 5.­627
  • 5.­638
  • 5.­657-662
  • 5.­665-666
  • 5.­669-671
  • 5.­675
  • 5.­679-680
  • 5.­710-711
  • 5.­713
  • 5.­719
  • 5.­721
  • 5.­723-725
  • 5.­728
  • 5.­733-734
  • 5.­736
  • 5.­740
  • 5.­743
  • 5.­745
  • 5.­751
  • 5.­753-754
  • 5.­763
  • 5.­767
  • 5.­773
  • 5.­780
  • 5.­783
  • 5.­786-787
  • 5.­791
  • 5.­797-798
  • 5.­800-804
  • 5.­807-810
  • 5.­813
  • 5.­816-817
  • 5.­821
  • 5.­828
  • 5.­830
  • 5.­839
  • 5.­842
  • 5.­845-849
  • 5.­854
  • 5.­856
  • 5.­858-859
  • 5.­861
  • 5.­863-867
  • 5.­869
  • 5.­871-873
  • 5.­875-876
  • 5.­878
  • 5.­880
  • 5.­884-887
  • 5.­889-893
  • 5.­895-896
  • 5.­898
  • 5.­903
  • 5.­905
  • 5.­953
  • 5.­981
  • 5.­990-993
  • 5.­998
  • 5.­1007-1008
  • 5.­1014
  • 5.­1025
  • 5.­1034
  • 5.­1040
  • 5.­1054
  • 5.­1060
  • 5.­1062
  • 5.­1072
  • 5.­1086-1087
  • 5.­1119
  • 5.­1127
  • 5.­1141
  • 5.­1159
  • 5.­1165
  • 5.­1173
  • 5.­1179
  • 5.­1214
  • 5.­1225
  • 5.­1238
  • 5.­1245
  • 5.­1273
  • 5.­1342
  • 5.­1349
  • 5.­1381
  • 5.­1397
  • 5.­1399
  • 5.­1418
  • 5.­1420
  • 5.­1425
  • 5.­1431
  • 5.­1433
  • 5.­1441
  • 5.­1443
  • 5.­1450
  • 5.­1454
  • 6.­2
  • n.­307
  • n.­309
  • n.­433
  • n.­460
  • n.­467
  • n.­485
  • n.­496
  • n.­635
  • n.­643
  • n.­668
  • n.­718
  • n.­737-738
  • n.­893
  • n.­902
  • n.­907
  • n.­1000
  • n.­1013
  • n.­1138
  • n.­1442
  • n.­1479
  • n.­1490
  • n.­1492
  • n.­1502
  • n.­1516
  • n.­1530
  • n.­1532
  • n.­1543
  • n.­1546
  • n.­1549-1550
  • n.­1552
  • n.­1555-1556
  • n.­1559
  • n.­1561
  • n.­1593
  • n.­1607
  • n.­1623
  • n.­1638
  • n.­1646
  • n.­1657
  • n.­1721
  • n.­1723
  • n.­1769
  • n.­1773
  • n.­1777
  • n.­1814
  • n.­1823
  • n.­1842-1843
  • n.­1856
  • n.­1859
  • n.­1886
  • n.­1891
  • n.­1896
  • n.­1912
  • g.­356
g.­165

great emptiness

Wylie:
  • chen po stong pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • ཆེན་པོ་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • mahāśūnyatā

One of the fourteen emptinesses and eighteen emptinesses.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­125
  • 4.­794
  • 5.­415
  • g.­81
  • g.­149
g.­166

great person

Wylie:
  • skyes bu chen po
Tibetan:
  • སྐྱེས་བུ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahāpuruṣa

Someone who will become a buddha or a cakravartin, whose bodies are adorned with the thirty-two major marks and the eighty minor signs.

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • i.­115
  • 4.­1183
  • 5.­1273-1274
  • 5.­1306-1307
  • 5.­1309
  • 5.­1311
  • 5.­1323
  • 5.­1326-1328
  • 5.­1340
  • n.­307
g.­167

Great Vehicle

Wylie:
  • theg pa chen po
Tibetan:
  • ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahāyāna

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

When the Buddhist teachings are classified according to their power to lead beings to an awakened state, a distinction is made between the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle (Hīnayāna), which emphasizes the individual’s own freedom from cyclic existence as the primary motivation and goal, and those of the Great Vehicle (Mahāyāna), which emphasizes altruism and has the liberation of all sentient beings as the principal objective. As the term “Great Vehicle” implies, the path followed by bodhisattvas is analogous to a large carriage that can transport a vast number of people to liberation, as compared to a smaller vehicle for the individual practitioner.

Located in 91 passages in the translation:

  • i.­53
  • i.­82-83
  • i.­86-88
  • i.­90-91
  • 1.­139
  • 3.­2
  • 3.­13
  • 3.­15-16
  • 4.­12
  • 4.­25
  • 4.­34
  • 4.­96
  • 4.­392
  • 4.­678
  • 4.­711
  • 4.­742
  • 4.­758-770
  • 4.­786-788
  • 4.­815
  • 4.­818
  • 4.­820
  • 4.­886-887
  • 4.­894
  • 4.­908
  • 4.­1092
  • 4.­1096
  • 4.­1140-1142
  • 4.­1155
  • 4.­1161
  • 4.­1168-1175
  • 4.­1186
  • 4.­1193
  • 4.­1195
  • 4.­1216
  • 4.­1218-1219
  • 4.­1222
  • 4.­1224
  • 4.­1229
  • 4.­1231-1234
  • 4.­1247
  • 4.­1267
  • n.­75
  • n.­156
  • n.­513
  • n.­738
  • n.­740-741
  • n.­762
  • n.­764
  • n.­893
  • n.­933
  • n.­935
  • n.­973
  • n.­976
  • n.­978-979
  • n.­1005
  • g.­299
g.­168

greed

Wylie:
  • ’dod chags
Tibetan:
  • འདོད་ཆགས།
Sanskrit:
  • rāga
  • lobha

One of the three poisons (triviṣa), together with hatred and confusion, that bind beings to cyclic existence.

Located in 30 passages in the translation:

  • i.­106
  • 1.­78
  • 1.­187
  • 4.­471-472
  • 4.­477
  • 4.­488
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­715
  • 4.­836-837
  • 4.­900
  • 4.­1050
  • 4.­1225
  • 5.­299
  • 5.­403
  • 5.­468
  • 5.­470-472
  • 5.­563
  • 5.­1058
  • 5.­1168
  • n.­94
  • n.­113
  • n.­770
  • n.­1438
  • g.­43
  • g.­138
  • g.­171
g.­169

guru

Wylie:
  • bla ma
Tibetan:
  • བླ་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • guru

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A spiritual teacher, in particular one with whom one has a personal teacher–student relationship.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 4.­851
  • 4.­1109
  • 5.­1278
  • n.­8
  • n.­40
g.­171

hatred

Wylie:
  • zhe sdang
Tibetan:
  • ཞེ་སྡང་།
Sanskrit:
  • dveṣa
  • doṣa

One of the three poisons (triviṣa), together with greed and confusion, that bind beings to cyclic existence.

Located in 19 passages in the translation:

  • i.­74
  • 1.­78
  • 1.­187-188
  • 4.­399
  • 4.­471-472
  • 4.­477
  • 4.­488
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­715
  • 4.­837
  • 4.­900
  • 4.­1050
  • 5.­300
  • 5.­404
  • 5.­472
  • g.­43
  • g.­168
g.­172

ignorance

Wylie:
  • ma rig pa
Tibetan:
  • མ་རིག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • avidyā

Located in 40 passages in the translation:

  • i.­118
  • 1.­21-24
  • 1.­26
  • 1.­30-31
  • 1.­35-36
  • 1.­54
  • 1.­208-209
  • 1.­217-218
  • 4.­123
  • 4.­125
  • 4.­137
  • 4.­143
  • 4.­217
  • 4.­647-651
  • 4.­653-654
  • 4.­981
  • 4.­983
  • 4.­990
  • 5.­53
  • 5.­302
  • 5.­1258
  • 6.­32
  • 6.­41
  • n.­54
  • n.­1113
  • n.­1497
  • g.­339
  • g.­368
g.­173

imaginary

Wylie:
  • kun brtag
Tibetan:
  • ཀུན་བརྟག
Sanskrit:
  • parikalpita

One of the three natures. Same as “conceptualized.”

Located in 66 passages in the translation:

  • i.­61
  • i.­71
  • i.­74
  • i.­78-79
  • i.­89-90
  • i.­109
  • i.­114
  • i.­117-118
  • 1.­60-61
  • 1.­121
  • 3.­9
  • 4.­128
  • 4.­149
  • 4.­155
  • 4.­197-198
  • 4.­201
  • 4.­205
  • 4.­208
  • 4.­217-218
  • 4.­272
  • 4.­279
  • 4.­282
  • 4.­295
  • 4.­305
  • 4.­309
  • 4.­409
  • 4.­421
  • 4.­423
  • 4.­434-435
  • 4.­461
  • 4.­487
  • 4.­522
  • 4.­543
  • 4.­545-547
  • 4.­551
  • 4.­558
  • 4.­627
  • 4.­697
  • 4.­813
  • 4.­1241
  • 5.­161
  • 5.­190
  • 5.­388
  • 5.­649
  • 5.­940
  • 5.­1031
  • 5.­1189
  • 6.­38-39
  • 6.­48
  • 6.­53
  • 6.­57-58
  • 6.­61
  • n.­945
  • n.­1827
  • g.­352
g.­174

imagination

Wylie:
  • rnam par rtog pa
  • kun tu rtog pa
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་པར་རྟོག་པ།
  • ཀུན་ཏུ་རྟོག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • vitarka

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­115
  • 4.­206
  • 4.­235
  • 4.­985
  • 5.­272
  • 5.­397
  • 5.­494
g.­175

immeasurables

Wylie:
  • tshad med pa
Tibetan:
  • ཚད་མེད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • a­pramāṇa

See “four immeasurables.”

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­99
  • 4.­721
  • 4.­763
  • 4.­912
  • 5.­235
  • n.­703
g.­176

Indra

Wylie:
  • dbang po
Tibetan:
  • དབང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • indra

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The lord of the Trāyastriṃśa heaven on the summit of Mount Sumeru. As one of the eight guardians of the directions, Indra guards the eastern quarter. In Buddhist sūtras, he is a disciple of the Buddha and protector of the Dharma and its practitioners. He is often referred to by the epithets Śatakratu, Śakra, and Kauśika.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­968
  • n.­831
g.­177

inner and outer emptiness

Wylie:
  • phyi nang stong pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • ཕྱི་ནང་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • adhyātma­bahirdhā­śūnyatā

One of the fourteen emptinesses and eighteen emptinesses.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­106-107
  • 4.­114
  • 4.­117
  • 4.­977
  • g.­81
  • g.­149
g.­178

inner emptiness

Wylie:
  • nang stong pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • ནང་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • adhyātma­śūnyatā

One of the fourteen emptinesses and eighteen emptinesses.

Located in 18 passages in the translation:

  • i.­64
  • 4.­103-104
  • 4.­108
  • 4.­112
  • 4.­484-485
  • 4.­566
  • 4.­574
  • 4.­977
  • 4.­987
  • 5.­91
  • 5.­1076
  • 5.­1401-1402
  • n.­1042
  • g.­81
  • g.­149
g.­179

intrinsic nature

Wylie:
  • ngo bo nyid
Tibetan:
  • ངོ་བོ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • svabhāva

This term denotes the ontological status of phenomena, according to which they are said to possess existence in their own right‍—inherently, in and of themselves, objectively, and independent of any other phenomena such as our conception and labelling. The absence of such an ontological reality is defined as the true nature of reality, emptiness.

Located in 326 passages in the translation:

  • i.­52
  • i.­65
  • i.­78
  • i.­101
  • i.­110
  • i.­117
  • 1.­49
  • 1.­67
  • 1.­94
  • 1.­121
  • 1.­149
  • 3.­9
  • 4.­17
  • 4.­35
  • 4.­39-41
  • 4.­79
  • 4.­97
  • 4.­112
  • 4.­123-124
  • 4.­126
  • 4.­158-161
  • 4.­191-193
  • 4.­198
  • 4.­200
  • 4.­202-206
  • 4.­211
  • 4.­213-214
  • 4.­216-218
  • 4.­220
  • 4.­235
  • 4.­237-239
  • 4.­261
  • 4.­263
  • 4.­273
  • 4.­276-278
  • 4.­292
  • 4.­295
  • 4.­308-309
  • 4.­314
  • 4.­384
  • 4.­446-449
  • 4.­453
  • 4.­456-461
  • 4.­467
  • 4.­484-486
  • 4.­516
  • 4.­547
  • 4.­556-558
  • 4.­569
  • 4.­593
  • 4.­601
  • 4.­604-605
  • 4.­608
  • 4.­619
  • 4.­641
  • 4.­661-662
  • 4.­665
  • 4.­672
  • 4.­678
  • 4.­680
  • 4.­741
  • 4.­777
  • 4.­790
  • 4.­801
  • 4.­803
  • 4.­807-809
  • 4.­813
  • 4.­942
  • 4.­1049
  • 4.­1054
  • 4.­1117
  • 4.­1149-1150
  • 4.­1179
  • 4.­1216
  • 4.­1242
  • 4.­1245
  • 4.­1254
  • 4.­1259
  • 4.­1263-1265
  • 4.­1268
  • 4.­1271
  • 4.­1273-1275
  • 4.­1283-1284
  • 4.­1286
  • 4.­1291
  • 4.­1305-1306
  • 4.­1331-1333
  • 4.­1362
  • 5.­38
  • 5.­44-45
  • 5.­60
  • 5.­73
  • 5.­93
  • 5.­125
  • 5.­127
  • 5.­130-131
  • 5.­169-170
  • 5.­173
  • 5.­217
  • 5.­225
  • 5.­227-228
  • 5.­242
  • 5.­244
  • 5.­248-249
  • 5.­270
  • 5.­273
  • 5.­278
  • 5.­283
  • 5.­286
  • 5.­288
  • 5.­290
  • 5.­316-317
  • 5.­327
  • 5.­344-346
  • 5.­349
  • 5.­361
  • 5.­364-365
  • 5.­375
  • 5.­378
  • 5.­402
  • 5.­411-412
  • 5.­432
  • 5.­468
  • 5.­470
  • 5.­474
  • 5.­476
  • 5.­478
  • 5.­487-489
  • 5.­493
  • 5.­504
  • 5.­545
  • 5.­547-548
  • 5.­555-556
  • 5.­563
  • 5.­596
  • 5.­622
  • 5.­633
  • 5.­635
  • 5.­665-666
  • 5.­713
  • 5.­790-791
  • 5.­808
  • 5.­824-828
  • 5.­885
  • 5.­897
  • 5.­966-968
  • 5.­989
  • 5.­1029-1031
  • 5.­1033-1035
  • 5.­1037-1038
  • 5.­1049
  • 5.­1058
  • 5.­1088-1089
  • 5.­1092
  • 5.­1120-1121
  • 5.­1123-1124
  • 5.­1135
  • 5.­1139
  • 5.­1148
  • 5.­1155
  • 5.­1162
  • 5.­1166-1167
  • 5.­1170
  • 5.­1175
  • 5.­1189-1192
  • 5.­1198
  • 5.­1200-1201
  • 5.­1219
  • 5.­1226
  • 5.­1228
  • 5.­1230
  • 5.­1236
  • 5.­1238
  • 5.­1241
  • 5.­1251
  • 5.­1354-1355
  • 5.­1363-1364
  • 5.­1367-1368
  • 5.­1383
  • 5.­1389
  • 5.­1393-1394
  • 5.­1396
  • 5.­1399
  • 5.­1405
  • 5.­1447
  • 5.­1457
  • 5.­1460-1461
  • 5.­1470-1472
  • 5.­1485
  • 5.­1496-1497
  • 6.­6-7
  • 6.­9
  • 6.­17
  • 6.­39
  • 6.­48-49
  • 6.­59-64
  • 6.­70
  • n.­95
  • n.­263
  • n.­325
  • n.­346-348
  • n.­351
  • n.­404
  • n.­464
  • n.­704
  • n.­744
  • n.­758
  • n.­944
  • n.­989
  • n.­1000
  • n.­1032
  • n.­1241
  • n.­1283
  • n.­1491
  • n.­1550
  • n.­1598
  • n.­1615
  • n.­1630
  • n.­1718
  • n.­1726
  • n.­1755
  • n.­1760
  • n.­1762
  • n.­1773
  • n.­1823
  • n.­1827
  • n.­1918
  • n.­1968
  • g.­20
g.­180

isolation

Wylie:
  • dben pa
Tibetan:
  • དབེན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • vivikta
  • viveka

Isolation is traditionally categorized as being of three types: (1) isolation of the body (kāyaviveka), which refers to remaining in solitude free from desirous or disturbing objects; (2) isolation of the mind (cittaviveka), which is mental detachment from desirous or disturbing objects; and (3) isolation from the “substrate” (upadhiviveka), which indicates detachment from all things that perpetuate rebirth, including the five aggregates, the afflictions, and karma.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­44
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­876-878
  • 4.­1111
  • 4.­1362
  • 5.­1064
  • n.­902
  • n.­1614
g.­181

Īśvara

Wylie:
  • dbang phyug
Tibetan:
  • དབང་ཕྱུག
Sanskrit:
  • īśvara

Literally “lord,” this term is an epithet for the god Śiva, but functions more generally in Buddhist texts as a generalized “supreme being” to whom the creation of the universe is attributed.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • i.­70
  • 4.­453
  • 4.­1057
g.­182

Jain

Wylie:
  • gcer bu pa
Tibetan:
  • གཅེར་བུ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • nirgrantha

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­70
  • 4.­448
g.­183

Jambudvīpa

Wylie:
  • ’dzam bu’i gling
Tibetan:
  • འཛམ་བུའི་གླིང་།
Sanskrit:
  • jambudvīpa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The name of the southern continent in Buddhist cosmology, which can signify either the known human world, or more specifically the Indian subcontinent, literally “the jambu island/continent.” Jambu is the name used for a range of plum-like fruits from trees belonging to the genus Szygium, particularly Szygium jambos and Szygium cumini, and it has commonly been rendered “rose apple,” although “black plum” may be a less misleading term. Among various explanations given for the continent being so named, one (in the Abhidharmakośa) is that a jambu tree grows in its northern mountains beside Lake Anavatapta, mythically considered the source of the four great rivers of India, and that the continent is therefore named from the tree or the fruit. Jambudvīpa has the Vajrāsana at its center and is the only continent upon which buddhas attain awakening.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­224
  • 5.­145
  • 5.­160
  • 5.­178-179
  • 5.­204
  • g.­135
g.­184

jīvaṃjīvaka

Wylie:
  • shang shang te’u
Tibetan:
  • ཤང་ཤང་ཏེའུ།
Sanskrit:
  • jīvaṃjīvaka

A type of bird, often identified as the Grey Peacock Pheasant.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­1184-1185
g.­186

karma

Wylie:
  • las
  • sug las
  • phyag las
  • lag las
Tibetan:
  • ལས།
  • སུག་ལས།
  • ཕྱག་ལས།
  • ལག་ལས།
Sanskrit:
  • karman

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Meaning “action” in its most basic sense, karma is an important concept in Buddhist philosophy as the cumulative force of previous physical, verbal, and mental acts, which determines present experience and will determine future existences.

Located in 65 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­7
  • 1.­96
  • 1.­204-205
  • 1.­218
  • 1.­220
  • 1.­229
  • 3.­10
  • 4.­783
  • 4.­897
  • 4.­969
  • 4.­1051
  • 4.­1078
  • 4.­1334
  • 5.­36
  • 5.­183
  • 5.­283
  • 5.­981-982
  • 5.­984-987
  • 5.­989-990
  • 5.­1000
  • 5.­1277-1278
  • 5.­1284
  • 5.­1287
  • 5.­1295
  • 5.­1297
  • 5.­1302-1303
  • 5.­1308
  • 5.­1310
  • 5.­1312-1313
  • 5.­1318
  • 5.­1321
  • 5.­1323
  • 5.­1329
  • 5.­1367
  • 5.­1415
  • 5.­1444
  • 5.­1484
  • 6.­32
  • 6.­44
  • 6.­70
  • 6.­90
  • n.­50
  • n.­90
  • n.­277
  • n.­804
  • n.­844
  • n.­1067
  • n.­1385
  • n.­1753
  • n.­1756
  • n.­1805
  • n.­1879
  • n.­1902
  • g.­180
  • g.­342
  • g.­395
g.­187

Kāśyapa

Wylie:
  • ’od srungs
Tibetan:
  • འོད་སྲུངས།
Sanskrit:
  • kāśyapa

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­139
g.­190

knowledge

Wylie:
  • ye shes
Tibetan:
  • ཡེ་ཤེས།
Sanskrit:
  • jñāna

The last of the ten perfections. See 1.­126.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­122
  • 1.­126
  • g.­341
g.­191

Kṛtāvin level

Wylie:
  • byas pa rtogs pa can gyi sa
Tibetan:
  • བྱས་པ་རྟོགས་པ་ཅན་གྱི་ས།
Sanskrit:
  • kṛtāvibhūmi

Lit. “Have Done the Work to Be Done.” The seventh of the ten levels traversed by all practitioners, from the level of an ordinary person until reaching buddhahood. It is equivalent to the level of a worthy one. See “ten levels.”

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­208-209
  • 4.­900
  • 4.­1139
  • 4.­1210
  • 5.­961
  • n.­920
  • g.­340
g.­192

legs of miraculous power

Wylie:
  • rdzu ’phrul gyi rkang pa
Tibetan:
  • རྫུ་འཕྲུལ་གྱི་རྐང་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • ṛddhipāda

See “four legs of miraculous power.”

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­4
  • 4.­787
  • 4.­869
g.­194

lineage

Wylie:
  • rigs
Tibetan:
  • རིགས།
Sanskrit:
  • gotra

Literally, the class, caste or lineage. In this context, it is the basic disposition or propensity of an individual which determines which kind of vehicle (śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, or bodhisattva) they will follow and therefore which kind of awakening they will obtain. However, in Buddhist literature of the third turning, this same term is used instead as a synonym of buddha-nature (tathāgata­garbha), ie, that all the beings are in fact endowed with the potential or geniture of a buddha’s awakening.

Located in 19 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­91
  • 1.­206-208
  • 1.­223-224
  • 1.­226
  • 3.­5
  • 4.­92
  • 4.­98
  • 4.­589
  • 5.­221
  • 5.­617
  • 5.­1273
  • 6.­99-100
  • 6.­102
  • n.­213
  • g.­161
g.­195

living being

Wylie:
  • srog chags
  • srog
Tibetan:
  • སྲོག་ཆགས།
  • སྲོག
Sanskrit:
  • prāṇin
  • jīva

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­97
  • 4.­471
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­1185
  • 4.­1200
  • 5.­1400
  • 5.­1491
  • 6.­2
g.­196

lord

Wylie:
  • bcom ldan ’das
Tibetan:
  • བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།
Sanskrit:
  • bhagavān
  • bhagavat

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term‍—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa‍—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).

In this text:

For a definition given in this text, see 1.­14.

Located in 708 passages in the translation:

  • i.­49
  • i.­57-58
  • i.­63
  • i.­68
  • i.­80
  • i.­91
  • i.­106
  • i.­108
  • i.­111-112
  • i.­118
  • 1.­4-7
  • 1.­9
  • 1.­14
  • 1.­16
  • 1.­18
  • 1.­110
  • 1.­127
  • 1.­130
  • 1.­133
  • 1.­137
  • 1.­139
  • 1.­141
  • 1.­143-145
  • 1.­147
  • 1.­158-160
  • 1.­170
  • 1.­176
  • 1.­178
  • 1.­191
  • 1.­195
  • 1.­197
  • 1.­201
  • 1.­214
  • 1.­218
  • 1.­220
  • 1.­222-226
  • 1.­228-229
  • 2.­2-5
  • 2.­8-10
  • 2.­12-14
  • 3.­21
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­3
  • 4.­53
  • 4.­66
  • 4.­73
  • 4.­87
  • 4.­130
  • 4.­134-135
  • 4.­137
  • 4.­139
  • 4.­161
  • 4.­168
  • 4.­172
  • 4.­186-188
  • 4.­234
  • 4.­238-239
  • 4.­248
  • 4.­251
  • 4.­258-259
  • 4.­317
  • 4.­331
  • 4.­371-373
  • 4.­375
  • 4.­377-378
  • 4.­401-402
  • 4.­404-409
  • 4.­411
  • 4.­413-414
  • 4.­416
  • 4.­438
  • 4.­445
  • 4.­454-457
  • 4.­459-460
  • 4.­462-463
  • 4.­465
  • 4.­474
  • 4.­476
  • 4.­497
  • 4.­502-504
  • 4.­507-508
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­532
  • 4.­536
  • 4.­538-539
  • 4.­541
  • 4.­562
  • 4.­564
  • 4.­568
  • 4.­572
  • 4.­587
  • 4.­590
  • 4.­602
  • 4.­609
  • 4.­624
  • 4.­638
  • 4.­641-642
  • 4.­649
  • 4.­660-661
  • 4.­666
  • 4.­668
  • 4.­678
  • 4.­707-708
  • 4.­712
  • 4.­774
  • 4.­776
  • 4.­778
  • 4.­782
  • 4.­786-787
  • 4.­974
  • 4.­1092
  • 4.­1095
  • 4.­1164
  • 4.­1168
  • 4.­1174
  • 4.­1192
  • 4.­1232-1235
  • 4.­1237-1238
  • 4.­1240-1244
  • 4.­1283
  • 4.­1287-1288
  • 4.­1290
  • 4.­1292-1293
  • 5.­49
  • 5.­132
  • 5.­134
  • 5.­222
  • 5.­231
  • 5.­234
  • 5.­238
  • 5.­248
  • 5.­250
  • 5.­256
  • 5.­258
  • 5.­264
  • 5.­267
  • 5.­269-270
  • 5.­272-273
  • 5.­280-281
  • 5.­308
  • 5.­311
  • 5.­313-317
  • 5.­319
  • 5.­321
  • 5.­323-324
  • 5.­329
  • 5.­332-333
  • 5.­337
  • 5.­343
  • 5.­424
  • 5.­434-435
  • 5.­519
  • 5.­531
  • 5.­536
  • 5.­539-540
  • 5.­542-543
  • 5.­545
  • 5.­550
  • 5.­565
  • 5.­576
  • 5.­578
  • 5.­583
  • 5.­603
  • 5.­617
  • 5.­621
  • 5.­627
  • 5.­634
  • 5.­637
  • 5.­645
  • 5.­647-655
  • 5.­657-659
  • 5.­663-673
  • 5.­675-679
  • 5.­711
  • 5.­713-746
  • 5.­748-767
  • 5.­769-773
  • 5.­775-784
  • 5.­786-798
  • 5.­800-805
  • 5.­807-819
  • 5.­822-825
  • 5.­827-832
  • 5.­835-845
  • 5.­847
  • 5.­849-850
  • 5.­852-873
  • 5.­875-876
  • 5.­878-882
  • 5.­884-929
  • 5.­933
  • 5.­940
  • 5.­948-949
  • 5.­951
  • 5.­953-954
  • 5.­968
  • 5.­970
  • 5.­972-974
  • 5.­976
  • 5.­982
  • 5.­989
  • 5.­997-999
  • 5.­1008
  • 5.­1013-1014
  • 5.­1023
  • 5.­1030
  • 5.­1033-1034
  • 5.­1037-1041
  • 5.­1043
  • 5.­1049
  • 5.­1053-1055
  • 5.­1058
  • 5.­1065
  • 5.­1067
  • 5.­1069
  • 5.­1079
  • 5.­1081
  • 5.­1091
  • 5.­1108-1109
  • 5.­1120
  • 5.­1126
  • 5.­1132
  • 5.­1134
  • 5.­1136
  • 5.­1147-1149
  • 5.­1151
  • 5.­1153
  • 5.­1155
  • 5.­1172-1177
  • 5.­1193
  • 5.­1196
  • 5.­1199-1200
  • 5.­1203-1204
  • 5.­1214
  • 5.­1217
  • 5.­1226
  • 5.­1236
  • 5.­1238
  • 5.­1245
  • 5.­1251
  • 5.­1284
  • 5.­1292
  • 5.­1303-1304
  • 5.­1341
  • 5.­1350-1351
  • 5.­1360
  • 5.­1362
  • 5.­1364-1367
  • 5.­1370-1373
  • 5.­1377-1379
  • 5.­1381
  • 5.­1383-1384
  • 5.­1387
  • 5.­1389
  • 5.­1395-1396
  • 5.­1399-1400
  • 5.­1425
  • 5.­1431
  • 5.­1433
  • 5.­1435-1440
  • 5.­1443
  • 5.­1448-1452
  • 5.­1461
  • 5.­1470
  • 5.­1474-1475
  • 5.­1487
  • 5.­1494-1497
  • 6.­2
  • 6.­4-7
  • 6.­9
  • 6.­14-23
  • 6.­25-26
  • 6.­31-34
  • 6.­37-39
  • 6.­57
  • 6.­71-76
  • 6.­80
  • 6.­83
  • 6.­89
  • 6.­94
  • 6.­99-102
  • n.­173
  • n.­184-185
  • n.­230
  • n.­258
  • n.­476
  • n.­515
  • n.­614
  • n.­635
  • n.­640
  • n.­738
  • n.­893
  • n.­931
  • n.­939
  • n.­973
  • n.­1000
  • n.­1005
  • n.­1013
  • n.­1237
  • n.­1245
  • n.­1283
  • n.­1317
  • n.­1319-1320
  • n.­1324
  • n.­1328
  • n.­1335
  • n.­1346
  • n.­1348
  • n.­1408
  • n.­1420
  • n.­1492
  • n.­1502
  • n.­1522
  • n.­1524
  • n.­1527
  • n.­1530
  • n.­1532
  • n.­1534
  • n.­1543
  • n.­1545-1547
  • n.­1549-1550
  • n.­1552
  • n.­1556
  • n.­1560-1562
  • n.­1613
  • n.­1629
  • n.­1637
  • n.­1646
  • n.­1657
  • n.­1673
  • n.­1679
  • n.­1682
  • n.­1744
  • n.­1755
  • n.­1760
  • n.­1769
  • n.­1773
  • n.­1823
  • n.­1839
  • n.­1842
  • n.­1886
  • n.­1891
  • n.­1902
  • n.­1912
  • n.­1931
  • g.­181
g.­198

Maitreya

Wylie:
  • byams pa
Tibetan:
  • བྱམས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • maitreya

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The bodhisattva Maitreya is an important figure in many Buddhist traditions, where he is unanimously regarded as the buddha of the future era. He is said to currently reside in the heaven of Tuṣita, as Śākyamuni’s regent, where he awaits the proper time to take his final rebirth and become the fifth buddha in the Fortunate Eon, reestablishing the Dharma in this world after the teachings of the current buddha have disappeared. Within the Mahāyāna sūtras, Maitreya is elevated to the same status as other central bodhisattvas such as Mañjuśrī and Avalokiteśvara, and his name appears frequently in sūtras, either as the Buddha’s interlocutor or as a teacher of the Dharma. Maitreya literally means “Loving One.” He is also known as Ajita, meaning “Invincible.”

For more information on Maitreya, see, for example, the introduction to Maitreya’s Setting Out (Toh 198).

Located in 74 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­3-4
  • i.­29-31
  • i.­55
  • i.­58
  • i.­94
  • i.­103
  • i.­118
  • 1.­3
  • 1.­227
  • 1.­229
  • 2.­17
  • 4.­331
  • 5.­205-206
  • 5.­209
  • 5.­219
  • 5.­222-223
  • 5.­230-231
  • 5.­359
  • 5.­992-994
  • 5.­996
  • 5.­1134
  • 6.­2
  • 6.­7
  • 6.­9
  • 6.­11-17
  • 6.­19
  • 6.­21-23
  • 6.­25-26
  • 6.­28-29
  • 6.­31-34
  • 6.­37-39
  • 6.­53
  • 6.­57
  • 6.­61
  • 6.­67
  • 6.­71-72
  • 6.­76
  • 6.­78
  • 6.­90
  • n.­221
  • n.­224
  • n.­226
  • n.­247
  • n.­426
  • n.­1944
  • n.­1958
  • g.­16
  • g.­71
  • g.­366
g.­199

major mark

Wylie:
  • mtshan
Tibetan:
  • མཚན།
Sanskrit:
  • lakṣaṇa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The thirty-two primary physical characteristics of a “great being,” mahāpuruṣa, which every buddha and cakravartin possesses. They are considered “major” in terms of being primary to the eighty minor marks or signs of a great being.

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • i.­115
  • 4.­97
  • 4.­1029
  • 4.­1183
  • 5.­1273
  • 5.­1276-1277
  • 5.­1282
  • 5.­1318
  • 5.­1323
  • 5.­1340
  • g.­166
g.­200

Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta

Wylie:
  • ’jam dpal gzhon nur gyur pa
Tibetan:
  • འཇམ་དཔལ་གཞོན་ནུར་གྱུར་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • mañjuśrī­kumāra­bhūta

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Mañjuśrī is one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha” and a bodhisattva who embodies wisdom. He is a major figure in the Mahāyāna sūtras, appearing often as an interlocutor of the Buddha. In his most well-known iconographic form, he is portrayed bearing the sword of wisdom in his right hand and a volume of the Prajñā­pāramitā­sūtra in his left. To his name, Mañjuśrī, meaning “Gentle and Glorious One,” is often added the epithet Kumārabhūta, “having a youthful form.” He is also called Mañjughoṣa, Mañjusvara, and Pañcaśikha.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­1
  • 4.­344
  • g.­239
g.­201

Māra

Wylie:
  • bdud
Tibetan:
  • བདུད།
Sanskrit:
  • māra

A māra is a demon, in the sense of something that plagues a person. The four māras are (1) māra as the five aggregates (skandhamāra, phung po’i bdud), māra as the afflictive emotions (kleśamāra, nyon mongs pa’i bdud), māra as death (mṛtyumāra, ’chi bdag gi bdud), and the god māra (devaputramāra, lha’i bu’i bdud).

Located in 36 passages in the translation:

  • i.­55
  • i.­58
  • i.­96
  • i.­104
  • 1.­14
  • 1.­24
  • 1.­48
  • 1.­80
  • 1.­88-89
  • 1.­147
  • 1.­174
  • 1.­176
  • 2.­13
  • 4.­726
  • 4.­880-881
  • 4.­999
  • 4.­1009
  • 4.­1185
  • 5.­150
  • 5.­220
  • 5.­443
  • 5.­460
  • 5.­462
  • 5.­634
  • 5.­1027-1028
  • 5.­1044
  • 5.­1286
  • 5.­1415
  • n.­1614
  • n.­1624
  • n.­1712
  • n.­1786
  • g.­203
g.­203

Māra the wicked one

Wylie:
  • bdud sdig can
Tibetan:
  • བདུད་སྡིག་ཅན།
Sanskrit:
  • māraḥ pāpīyān

A frequent epithet of Māra.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­310
g.­204

Maudgalyāyana

Wylie:
  • maud gal gyi bu
Tibetan:
  • མཽད་གལ་གྱི་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • maudgalyāyana

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the principal śrāvaka disciples of the Buddha, paired with Śāriputra. He was renowned for his miraculous powers. His family clan was descended from Mudgala, hence his name Maudgalyā­yana, “the son of Mudgala’s descendants.” Respectfully referred to as Mahā­maudgalyā­yana, “Great Maudgalyāyana.”

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­224
  • n.­1700
g.­205

meditative equipoise

Wylie:
  • mnyam par bzhag pa
Tibetan:
  • མཉམ་པར་བཞག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • samāhita

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A state of deep concentration in which the mind is absorbed in its object to such a degree that conceptual thought is suspended. It is sometimes interpreted as settling (āhita) the mind in equanimity (sama).

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­7-8
  • 1.­16
  • 1.­149
  • 1.­151
  • 4.­54
  • 4.­629
  • 4.­765
  • 4.­972
  • 4.­994
  • 4.­1017
  • 4.­1025
  • 5.­455
  • 5.­1010
  • 6.­66
  • n.­606
  • n.­876
g.­206

meditative stabilization

Wylie:
  • ting nge ’dzin
  • ting ’dzin
Tibetan:
  • ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན།
  • ཏིང་འཛིན།
Sanskrit:
  • samādhi

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In a general sense, samādhi can describe a number of different meditative states. In the Mahāyāna literature, in particular in the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, we find extensive lists of different samādhis, numbering over one hundred.

In a more restricted sense, and when understood as a mental state, samādhi is defined as the one-pointedness of the mind (cittaikāgratā), the ability to remain on the same object over long periods of time. The Drajor Bamponyipa (sgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa) commentary on the Mahāvyutpatti explains the term samādhi as referring to the instrument through which mind and mental states “get collected,” i.e., it is by the force of samādhi that the continuum of mind and mental states becomes collected on a single point of reference without getting distracted.

Located in 161 passages in the translation:

  • i.­40
  • i.­52-53
  • i.­57
  • i.­75
  • i.­108
  • i.­115
  • 1.­16
  • 1.­21
  • 1.­29-30
  • 1.­33
  • 1.­36
  • 1.­38
  • 1.­45
  • 1.­53
  • 1.­58
  • 1.­69
  • 1.­109
  • 1.­111
  • 1.­122-125
  • 1.­129
  • 1.­132
  • 1.­140
  • 1.­142-144
  • 1.­148-152
  • 1.­162
  • 1.­171
  • 1.­208
  • 3.­10
  • 3.­13
  • 4.­8
  • 4.­36-40
  • 4.­73
  • 4.­126-127
  • 4.­171
  • 4.­181
  • 4.­292-293
  • 4.­295
  • 4.­336
  • 4.­379
  • 4.­437
  • 4.­478
  • 4.­534
  • 4.­573
  • 4.­620-621
  • 4.­626-630
  • 4.­632-633
  • 4.­635-636
  • 4.­639
  • 4.­699
  • 4.­728
  • 4.­765
  • 4.­787
  • 4.­815-816
  • 4.­870-875
  • 4.­878
  • 4.­884-885
  • 4.­887-893
  • 4.­911
  • 4.­925
  • 4.­966
  • 4.­985
  • 4.­992
  • 4.­994-996
  • 4.­1019
  • 4.­1022
  • 4.­1025
  • 4.­1130
  • 5.­67
  • 5.­432
  • 5.­437
  • 5.­439
  • 5.­441
  • 5.­634
  • 5.­659
  • 5.­839
  • 5.­976-980
  • 5.­1004
  • 5.­1013
  • 5.­1072
  • 5.­1223
  • 5.­1252
  • 5.­1344
  • 5.­1346-1347
  • 5.­1434
  • 6.­96
  • n.­71
  • n.­75
  • n.­86-87
  • n.­146
  • n.­179
  • n.­181
  • n.­185
  • n.­263
  • n.­273
  • n.­410
  • n.­428
  • n.­499
  • n.­562
  • n.­603
  • n.­800
  • n.­876
  • n.­1215
  • g.­4
  • g.­82
  • g.­116
  • g.­120
  • g.­207
  • g.­275
  • g.­283
  • g.­284
  • g.­291
  • g.­294
  • g.­328
  • g.­349
  • g.­377
  • g.­383
g.­207

meditative stabilization with applied and sustained thought

Wylie:
  • rtog pa dang bcas dpyod pa dang bcas pa’i ting nge ’dzin
Tibetan:
  • རྟོག་པ་དང་བཅས་དཔྱོད་པ་དང་བཅས་པའི་ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན།
Sanskrit:
  • sa­vitarka­savicāra­samādhi

See “meditative stabilization.”

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­911
g.­208

merit

Wylie:
  • bsod nams
Tibetan:
  • བསོད་ནམས།
Sanskrit:
  • puṇya

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In Buddhism more generally, merit refers to the wholesome karmic potential accumulated by someone as a result of positive and altruistic thoughts, words, and actions, which will ripen in the current or future lifetimes as the experience of happiness and well-being. According to the Mahāyāna, it is important to dedicate the merit of one’s wholesome actions to the awakening of oneself and to the ultimate and temporary benefit of all sentient beings. Doing so ensures that others also experience the results of the positive actions generated and that the merit is not wasted by ripening in temporary happiness for oneself alone.

Located in 64 passages in the translation:

  • i.­55
  • i.­97-100
  • i.­108
  • i.­120
  • 1.­11
  • 1.­14
  • 1.­80
  • 1.­213
  • 4.­15
  • 4.­19
  • 4.­404
  • 4.­772
  • 4.­976
  • 4.­990
  • 5.­134
  • 5.­145
  • 5.­160
  • 5.­167-168
  • 5.­178-179
  • 5.­181
  • 5.­199-200
  • 5.­202
  • 5.­204-205
  • 5.­222
  • 5.­226-227
  • 5.­234-237
  • 5.­239-240
  • 5.­246-247
  • 5.­348
  • 5.­436
  • 5.­649
  • 5.­786
  • 5.­940
  • 5.­942-943
  • 5.­954
  • 5.­1032
  • 5.­1044
  • 5.­1177
  • 5.­1180
  • 5.­1316
  • 6.­93
  • n.­203
  • n.­842
  • n.­1155
  • n.­1166
  • n.­1193
  • n.­1349
  • n.­1624
  • n.­1723
  • g.­21
g.­209

mindfulness

Wylie:
  • dran pa
Tibetan:
  • དྲན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • smṛti

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

This is the faculty that enables the mind to maintain its attention on a referent object, counteracting the arising of forgetfulness, which is a great obstacle to meditative stability. The root smṛ may mean “to recollect” but also simply “to think of.” Broadly speaking, smṛti, commonly translated as “mindfulness,” means to bring something to mind, not necessarily something experienced in a distant past but also something that is experienced in the present, such as the position of one’s body or the breath.

Together with alertness (samprajāna, shes bzhin), it is one of the two indispensable factors for the development of calm abiding (śamatha, zhi gnas).

Located in 45 passages in the translation:

  • i.­84
  • 1.­140
  • 4.­32
  • 4.­41-42
  • 4.­787
  • 4.­818-820
  • 4.­832-833
  • 4.­839
  • 4.­852-853
  • 4.­864
  • 4.­874-875
  • 4.­879
  • 4.­884-885
  • 4.­912
  • 4.­1013
  • 4.­1016
  • 4.­1018
  • 4.­1071
  • 4.­1089
  • 4.­1185
  • 5.­634
  • 5.­862
  • 5.­1188
  • 5.­1272
  • n.­82
  • n.­762-763
  • n.­774
  • n.­789
  • n.­797
  • n.­800
  • n.­875
  • g.­29
  • g.­82
  • g.­116
  • g.­120
  • g.­133
  • g.­291
g.­210

minor sign

Wylie:
  • dpe byad bzang po
  • dpe byad
Tibetan:
  • དཔེ་བྱད་བཟང་པོ།
  • དཔེ་བྱད།
Sanskrit:
  • anuvyañjana
  • vyañjana

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The eighty secondary physical characteristics of a buddha and of other great beings (mahāpuruṣa), which include such details as the redness of the fingernails and the blackness of the hair. They are considered “minor” in terms of being secondary to the thirty-two major marks or signs of a great being.

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • i.­115
  • 4.­97
  • 4.­1029
  • 5.­66
  • 5.­1340-1341
  • n.­307
  • n.­1811
  • n.­1814
  • g.­166
  • g.­312
  • g.­333
g.­211

miraculous power

Wylie:
  • rdzu ’phrul
Tibetan:
  • རྫུ་འཕྲུལ།
Sanskrit:
  • ṛddhi

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The supernatural powers of a śrāvaka correspond to the first abhijñā: “Being one he becomes many, being many he becomes one; he becomes visible, invisible; goes through walls, ramparts and mountains without being impeded, just as through air; he immerses himself in the earth and emerges from it as if in water; he goes on water without breaking through it, as if on [solid] earth; he travels through the air crosslegged like a winged bird; he takes in his hands and touches the moon and the sun, those two wonderful, mighty beings, and with his body he extends his power as far as the Brahma world” (Śūraṃgamasamādhisūtra, trans. Lamotte 2003).

The great supernatural powers (maharddhi) of bodhisattvas are “causing trembling, blazing, illuminating, rendering invisible, transforming, coming and going across obstacles, reducing or enlarging worlds, inserting any matter into one’s own body, assuming the aspects of those one frequents, appearing and disappearing, submitting everyone to one’s will, dominating the supernormal power of others, giving intellectual clarity to those who lack it, giving mindfulness, bestowing happiness, and finally, emitting beneficial rays” (Śūraṃgamasamādhisūtra, trans. Lamotte 2003).

Located in 31 passages in the translation:

  • i.­57
  • 1.­4
  • 1.­29
  • 1.­69-70
  • 1.­74
  • 1.­104
  • 1.­109
  • 1.­142-144
  • 1.­146-148
  • 1.­161-162
  • 4.­330
  • 4.­382-383
  • 4.­385
  • 4.­869
  • 4.­875
  • 4.­999
  • 5.­1
  • 5.­1133
  • n.­185
  • n.­799
  • n.­1524
  • n.­1756
  • g.­35
  • g.­204
g.­213

morality

Wylie:
  • tshul khrims
Tibetan:
  • ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས།
Sanskrit:
  • śīla

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Morally virtuous or disciplined conduct and the abandonment of morally undisciplined conduct of body, speech, and mind. In a general sense, moral discipline is the cause for rebirth in higher, more favorable states, but it is also foundational to Buddhist practice as one of the three trainings (triśikṣā) and one of the six perfections of a bodhisattva. Often rendered as “ethics,” “discipline,” and “morality.”

Located in 57 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­21
  • 1.­29
  • 1.­33
  • 1.­48
  • 1.­208
  • 4.­20
  • 4.­59-60
  • 4.­94
  • 4.­254
  • 4.­322
  • 4.­348
  • 4.­366-368
  • 4.­394
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­534
  • 4.­671
  • 4.­699
  • 4.­749
  • 4.­755-756
  • 4.­878
  • 4.­885
  • 4.­951
  • 4.­986
  • 4.­1107
  • 5.­157
  • 5.­164
  • 5.­205
  • 5.­246
  • 5.­303
  • 5.­437
  • 5.­439
  • 5.­680
  • 5.­685
  • 5.­691
  • 5.­696
  • 5.­701
  • 5.­706
  • 5.­831-832
  • 5.­1094
  • 5.­1145
  • 5.­1278
  • n.­106
  • n.­309
  • n.­430
  • n.­438
  • n.­706
  • n.­1215
  • g.­4
  • g.­119
  • g.­292
  • g.­299
  • g.­349
g.­214

morality with eight branches

Wylie:
  • yan lag brgyad dang ldan pa’i tshul khrims
Tibetan:
  • ཡན་ལག་བརྒྱད་དང་ལྡན་པའི་ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས།
Sanskrit:
  • —

The eight branches are the same as the eight precepts, the upavasatha or upavāsa vows, namely: to refrain from (1) killing, (2) stealing, (3) sexual conduct, (4) lying or divisive speech, (5) intoxication, (6) eating at inappropriate times, (7) entertainment such as singing, dancing, seeing shows, and beautifying oneself with adornments or cosmetics, and (8) using a high bed.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­254
g.­215

morality with five branches

Wylie:
  • yan lag lnga dang ldan pa’i tshul khrims
Tibetan:
  • ཡན་ལག་ལྔ་དང་ལྡན་པའི་ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས།
Sanskrit:
  • —

The five branches are the same as the five precepts, namely: abstaining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and consuming intoxicants.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­254
g.­216

Mother of Victors

Wylie:
  • rgyal ba’i yum
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱལ་བའི་ཡུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • jinajananī

The Mother of Victors, the Perfection of Wisdom (prajñāpāramitā), is variously (1) the ultimate truth, the knowledge of the ultimate truth, or a nondual knowledge of the ultimate truth; (2) a complex of the three knowledges of buddhas, bodhisattvas, and śrāvakas; (3) the knowledge-path that leads to (1) and (2); (4) books with any or all of (1) (2) and (3) as subject matter; and (5) the iconographic representation of all those. See also “perfection of wisdom.”

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • n.­8
g.­217

nāga

Wylie:
  • klu
Tibetan:
  • ཀླུ།
Sanskrit:
  • nāga

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of nonhuman beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments, where they guard wealth and sometimes also teachings. Nāgas are associated with serpents and have a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art and in written accounts, they are regularly portrayed as half human and half snake, and they are also said to have the ability to change into human form. Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they are disturbed. They may likewise fight one another, wage war, and destroy the lands of others by causing lightning, hail, and flooding.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­72-73
  • 4.­1009
  • n.­1933
g.­219

nine abodes of beings

Wylie:
  • sems can gyi gnas dgu
Tibetan:
  • སེམས་ཅན་གྱི་གནས་དགུ
Sanskrit:
  • —

The dung dkar tshig mdzod chen mo lists the nine as (1) among those with different (tha dad) bodies and perceptions, such as humans and some gods, (2) among those with different bodies and a single perception, such as the Brahmakāyika gods, (3) among those with a single body and different perceptions, such as the Ābhāsvara gods, (4) among those with a single body and a single perception, such as the Śubhakṛtsna gods, and (5) among beings in Asaṃjñisattva, (6) in the station of endless space, (7) in the station of endless consciousness, (8) in the station of nothing-at-all, and (9) in the station of neither perception nor nonperception.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­9
g.­220

nine perceptions

Wylie:
  • ’du shes dgu
Tibetan:
  • འདུ་ཤེས་དགུ
Sanskrit:
  • navasaṃjñā

The nine perceptions of the repulsive state of the body after death are here listed as the perception of a bloated corpse, the perception of it chopped in half or the cleaned-out-by-worms perception, the perception of it as putrid, the bloodied perception, the black-and-blue perception, the savaged perception, the torn-asunder perception, the bones perception, and the burnt-bones perception.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • n.­785
g.­221

nine places beings live

Wylie:
  • sems can gyi gnas dgu
Tibetan:
  • སེམས་ཅན་གྱི་གནས་དགུ
Sanskrit:
  • —

The dung dkar tshig mdzod chen mo lists the nine as (1) among those with different (tha dad) bodies and perceptions, such as humans and some gods, (2) among those with different bodies and a single perception, such as the Brahmakāyika gods, (3) among those with a single body and different perceptions, such as the Ābhāsvara gods, (4) among those with a single body and a single perception, such as the Śubhakṛtsna gods, and (5) among beings in Asaṃjñisattva, (6) in the station of endless space, (7) in the station of endless consciousness, (8) in the station of nothing-at-all, and (9) in the station of neither perception nor nonperception. See also n.­288.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­62
g.­222

nine serial absorptions

Wylie:
  • mthar gyis gnas pa’i snyoms par ’jug pa dgu
Tibetan:
  • མཐར་གྱིས་གནས་པའི་སྙོམས་པར་འཇུག་པ་དགུ
Sanskrit:
  • navānupūrva­vihāra­samāpatti

Nine states of concentration that one may attain during a human life, namely the four concentrations corresponding to the form realm, the four formless absorptions, and the attainment of the state of cessation.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­946
  • 4.­992
  • n.­274
  • g.­134
g.­223

nirvāṇa

Wylie:
  • mya ngan las ’das pa
Tibetan:
  • མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • nirvāṇa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In Sanskrit, the term nirvāṇa literally means “extinguishment” and the Tibetan mya ngan las ’das pa literally means “gone beyond sorrow.” As a general term, it refers to the cessation of all suffering, afflicted mental states (kleśa), and causal processes (karman) that lead to rebirth and suffering in cyclic existence, as well as to the state in which all such rebirth and suffering has permanently ceased.

More specifically, three main types of nirvāṇa are identified. (1) The first type of nirvāṇa, called nirvāṇa with remainder (sopadhiśeṣanirvāṇa), is the state in which arhats or buddhas have attained awakening but are still dependent on the conditioned aggregates until their lifespan is exhausted. (2) At the end of life, given that there are no more causes for rebirth, these aggregates cease and no new aggregates arise. What occurs then is called nirvāṇa without remainder ( anupadhiśeṣanirvāṇa), which refers to the unconditioned element (dhātu) of nirvāṇa in which there is no remainder of the aggregates. (3) The Mahāyāna teachings distinguish the final nirvāṇa of buddhas from that of arhats, the nirvāṇa of arhats not being considered ultimate. The buddhas attain what is called nonabiding nirvāṇa (apratiṣṭhitanirvāṇa), which transcends the extremes of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, i.e., existence and peace. This is the nirvāṇa that is the goal of the Mahāyāna path.

Located in 117 passages in the translation:

  • i.­58
  • i.­86
  • i.­102
  • i.­111
  • i.­117
  • i.­119-120
  • 1.­4
  • 1.­8
  • 1.­35
  • 1.­58
  • 1.­69
  • 1.­94
  • 1.­123
  • 1.­130
  • 1.­182
  • 1.­208
  • 1.­220-221
  • 3.­3
  • 3.­9
  • 4.­27
  • 4.­29
  • 4.­31
  • 4.­36
  • 4.­52-53
  • 4.­79
  • 4.­91
  • 4.­139-143
  • 4.­162
  • 4.­176
  • 4.­240
  • 4.­244-247
  • 4.­305
  • 4.­311
  • 4.­364
  • 4.­428
  • 4.­436
  • 4.­497
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­589
  • 4.­694-695
  • 4.­709
  • 4.­716-717
  • 4.­795
  • 4.­981
  • 4.­1020
  • 4.­1027
  • 4.­1213
  • 5.­69
  • 5.­168
  • 5.­171
  • 5.­183
  • 5.­197
  • 5.­287
  • 5.­291
  • 5.­386
  • 5.­495
  • 5.­544
  • 5.­565
  • 5.­647
  • 5.­775
  • 5.­904
  • 5.­935
  • 5.­1134
  • 5.­1149-1150
  • 5.­1160
  • 5.­1172
  • 5.­1199
  • 5.­1451-1452
  • 5.­1493-1495
  • 6.­28
  • 6.­67
  • 6.­69-77
  • 6.­79
  • 6.­83
  • 6.­92
  • n.­59
  • n.­121
  • n.­195
  • n.­209
  • n.­215
  • n.­231
  • n.­268
  • n.­652
  • n.­746
  • n.­819
  • n.­905
  • n.­970
  • n.­1588
  • n.­1597
  • n.­1846
  • n.­1931
  • n.­1982
  • g.­311
g.­224

noble

Wylie:
  • ’phags pa
Tibetan:
  • འཕགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • ārya

A term of exaltation. See also “noble being.”

Located in 40 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­3
  • 1.­57
  • 2.­17
  • 4.­51
  • 4.­460
  • 4.­886
  • 4.­970
  • 4.­1084
  • 5.­86
  • 5.­110
  • 5.­378
  • 5.­386
  • 5.­626
  • 5.­782
  • 5.­814
  • 5.­996
  • 5.­1147
  • 5.­1149
  • 5.­1172
  • 5.­1228
  • 5.­1371
  • 5.­1445
  • 6.­2
  • 6.­7
  • 6.­14
  • 6.­16
  • 6.­22
  • 6.­31
  • 6.­33
  • 6.­37
  • 6.­39
  • 6.­57
  • 6.­76
  • 6.­104
  • n.­836
  • n.­889
  • n.­1069
  • n.­1510
  • n.­1902
  • g.­82
g.­225

noble being

Wylie:
  • ’phags pa
Tibetan:
  • འཕགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • ārya

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Sanskrit ārya has the general meaning of a noble person, one of a higher class or caste. In Buddhist literature, depending on the context, it often means specifically one who has gained the realization of the path and is superior for that reason. In particular, it applies to stream enterers, once-returners, non-returners, and worthy ones (arhats) and is also used as an epithet of bodhisattvas. In the five-path system, it refers to someone who has achieved at least the path of seeing (darśanamārga).

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • i.­100
  • 1.­29
  • 1.­208
  • 4.­930
  • 4.­1186
  • 5.­179
  • 5.­894
  • 5.­1360
  • 5.­1472
  • 6.­87
  • g.­13
  • g.­108
  • g.­224
  • g.­234
  • g.­292
g.­226

noble path

Wylie:
  • ’phags pa’i lam
Tibetan:
  • འཕགས་པའི་ལམ།
Sanskrit:
  • āryamārga

See “eightfold noble path.”

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­885
  • 4.­965
  • 6.­92
g.­227

noble truths

Wylie:
  • ’phags pa’i bden pa
Tibetan:
  • འཕགས་པའི་བདེན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • āryasatya

See “four noble truths.”

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­4
  • 1.­57
  • 4.­45
  • 4.­259
  • 4.­343
  • 4.­838
  • 4.­1209
  • n.­984
g.­228

non-returner

Wylie:
  • phyir mi ’ong ba
Tibetan:
  • ཕྱིར་མི་འོང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • anāgāmin

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The third of the four attainments of śrāvakas, this term refers to a person who will no longer take rebirth in the desire realm (kāmadhātu), but either be reborn in the Pure Abodes (śuddhāvāsa) or reach the state of an arhat in their current lifetime. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­21
  • 1.­208
  • 4.­70
  • 4.­534
  • 4.­969
  • 4.­1138
  • 4.­1313
  • 5.­437
  • 5.­439
  • 5.­960
  • 5.­1222
  • 6.­89
  • 6.­96
  • n.­832
  • n.­1562
  • n.­1564
  • g.­386
g.­229

nonrepudiation

Wylie:
  • dor ba
Tibetan:
  • དོར་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • anavakāra

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­139-140
  • 4.­801
  • n.­336
g.­230

objective support

Wylie:
  • dmigs pa
Tibetan:
  • དམིགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • ālambana
  • ārambana

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

dmigs (pa) translates a number of Sanskrit terms, including ālambana, upalabdhi, and ālambate. These terms commonly refer to the apprehending of a subject, an object, and the relationships that exist between them. The term may also be translated as “referentiality,” meaning a system based on the existence of referent objects, referent subjects, and the referential relationships that exist between them. As part of their doctrine of “threefold nonapprehending/nonreferentiality” (’khor gsum mi dmigs pa), Mahāyāna Buddhists famously assert that all three categories of apprehending lack substantiality.

Located in 52 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­23
  • 1.­51
  • 1.­53
  • 3.­3
  • 4.­18
  • 4.­40-41
  • 4.­54
  • 4.­78
  • 4.­819
  • 4.­823-827
  • 4.­914-916
  • 4.­918
  • 4.­921
  • 4.­940
  • 4.­943
  • 4.­945
  • 4.­993
  • 4.­1036
  • 5.­183-184
  • 5.­207-208
  • 5.­215
  • 5.­522
  • 5.­563
  • 5.­788
  • 5.­798
  • 5.­986-987
  • 5.­989-990
  • 5.­999
  • 5.­1010
  • 5.­1073-1074
  • 5.­1091
  • 5.­1160
  • 5.­1187
  • 5.­1206
  • 5.­1213
  • 5.­1235
  • 5.­1256
  • 5.­1456
  • n.­1144
  • g.­33
g.­231

obscuration

Wylie:
  • sgrib pa
Tibetan:
  • སྒྲིབ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • āvaraṇa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The obscurations to liberation and omniscience. They are generally categorized as two types: affective obscurations (kleśāvaraṇa), the arising of afflictive emotions; and cognitive obscurations (jñeyāvaraṇa), those caused by misapprehension and incorrect understanding about the nature of reality.

The term is used also as a reference to a set five hindrances on the path: longing for sense pleasures (Skt. kāmacchanda), malice (Skt. vyāpāda), sloth and torpor (Skt. styānamiddha), excitement and remorse (Skt. auddhatyakaukṛtya), and doubt (Skt. vicikitsā).

Located in 23 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­35
  • 1.­90
  • 4.­91
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­1016
  • 4.­1025
  • 4.­1027
  • 4.­1052
  • 4.­1152
  • 4.­1315
  • 4.­1322
  • 4.­1334
  • 5.­193
  • 5.­335
  • 5.­369
  • 5.­629
  • 5.­631-632
  • 5.­1352
  • 6.­70
  • n.­1490-1491
  • g.­359
g.­232

once-returner

Wylie:
  • lan cig phyir ’ong ba
Tibetan:
  • ལན་ཅིག་ཕྱིར་འོང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • sakṛdāgāmin

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One who has achieved the second of the four levels of attainment on the śrāvaka path and who will attain liberation after only one more birth. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)

Located in 16 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­208
  • 4.­70
  • 4.­534
  • 4.­969
  • 4.­1137
  • 4.­1313
  • 5.­204
  • 5.­959
  • 5.­1149
  • 5.­1222
  • 6.­89
  • n.­832
  • n.­847
  • n.­1562
  • n.­1564
  • g.­334
g.­233

one born of Manu

Wylie:
  • shed las skyes
Tibetan:
  • ཤེད་ལས་སྐྱེས།
Sanskrit:
  • manuja

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Manu being the archetypal human, the progenitor of humankind, in the Mahā­bhārata, the Purāṇas, and other Indian texts, “child of Manu” (mānava) or “born of Manu” (manuja) is a synonym of “human being” or humanity in general.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • n.­493
g.­234

ordinary person

Wylie:
  • so so’i skye bo
Tibetan:
  • སོ་སོའི་སྐྱེ་བོ།
Sanskrit:
  • pṛthagjana

A person who has not had a perceptual experience of the truth and has therefore not achieved the state of a noble being.

Located in 33 passages in the translation:

  • i.­74
  • 1.­20
  • 1.­177
  • 4.­276
  • 4.­488
  • 4.­833
  • 4.­917
  • 4.­1230
  • 5.­187
  • 5.­626
  • 5.­917
  • 5.­934
  • 5.­1147
  • 5.­1154
  • 5.­1393
  • 5.­1429
  • 5.­1451
  • 6.­44
  • n.­1187
  • n.­1562
  • g.­17
  • g.­24
  • g.­28
  • g.­53
  • g.­77
  • g.­161
  • g.­191
  • g.­251
  • g.­326
  • g.­334
  • g.­339
  • g.­340
  • g.­386
g.­235

other-powered

Wylie:
  • gzhan dbang
Tibetan:
  • གཞན་དབང་།
Sanskrit:
  • paratantra

One of the three natures. Also rendered here as “dependent.”

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • i.­61
  • i.­118
  • 4.­890-891
  • g.­40
  • g.­56
  • g.­352
g.­236

outer emptiness

Wylie:
  • phyi stong pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • ཕྱི་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • bahirdhā­śūnyatā

One of the fourteen emptinesses and eighteen emptinesses

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­105
  • 4.­113
  • 4.­484-485
  • 4.­977
  • 4.­987
  • g.­81
  • g.­149
g.­237

outflow

Wylie:
  • zag pa
Tibetan:
  • ཟག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • āsrava

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Literally, “to flow” or “to ooze.” Mental defilements or contaminations that “flow out” toward the objects of cyclic existence, binding us to them. Vasubandhu offers two alternative explanations of this term: “They cause beings to remain (āsayanti) within saṃsāra” and “They flow from the Summit of Existence down to the Avīci hell, out of the six wounds that are the sense fields” (Abhidharma­kośa­bhāṣya 5.40; Pradhan 1967, p. 308). The Summit of Existence (bhavāgra, srid pa’i rtse mo) is the highest point within saṃsāra, while the hell called Avīci (mnar med) is the lowest; the six sense fields (āyatana, skye mched) here refer to the five sense faculties plus the mind, i.e., the six internal sense fields.

In this text:

For a definition given in this text, see 1.­21.

Located in 50 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­19
  • 1.­21-24
  • 1.­28
  • 1.­36
  • 1.­39
  • 1.­69
  • 1.­79
  • 1.­151
  • 1.­204
  • 1.­212
  • 1.­218
  • 1.­220
  • 1.­224
  • 4.­23
  • 4.­54
  • 4.­75
  • 4.­146
  • 4.­253
  • 4.­255-256
  • 4.­428
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­740
  • 4.­783
  • 4.­816
  • 4.­997
  • 5.­88
  • 5.­179
  • 5.­194
  • 5.­369
  • 5.­489
  • 5.­862
  • 5.­894
  • 5.­1248
  • 5.­1437
  • 5.­1445
  • 6.­92
  • 6.­95
  • 6.­100
  • n.­113
  • n.­683
  • n.­970
  • n.­1026
  • n.­1526
  • n.­1696
  • g.­35
  • g.­138
g.­240

Parivrājaka

Wylie:
  • kun tu rgyu ba
Tibetan:
  • ཀུན་ཏུ་རྒྱུ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • parivrājaka

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A non-Buddhist religious mendicant who literally “roams around.” Historically, they wandered in India from ancient times, including the time of the Buddha, and held a variety of beliefs, engaging with one another in debate on a range of topics. Some of their metaphysical views are presented in the early Buddhist discourses of the Pali Canon. They included women in their number.

In this text:

See also “religious mendicant.”

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • i.­70
  • 4.­451
  • g.­265
g.­241

park

Wylie:
  • kun dga’ ra ba
  • skyed mos tshal
Tibetan:
  • ཀུན་དགའ་ར་བ།
  • སྐྱེད་མོས་ཚལ།
Sanskrit:
  • ārāma

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Generally found within the limits of a town or city, an ārāma was a private citizen’s park, a pleasure grove, a pleasant garden‍—ārāma, in its etymology, is somewhat akin to what in English is expressed by the term “pleasance.” The Buddha and his disciples were offered several such ārāmas in which to dwell, which evolved into monasteries or vihāras. The term is still found in contemporary usage in names of Thai monasteries.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­937
  • 4.­1033
  • 5.­1329
g.­242

patience

Wylie:
  • bzod pa
Tibetan:
  • བཟོད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • kṣānti

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A term meaning acceptance, forbearance, or patience. As the third of the six perfections, patience is classified into three kinds: the capacity to tolerate abuse from sentient beings, to tolerate the hardships of the path to buddhahood, and to tolerate the profound nature of reality. As a term referring to a bodhisattva’s realization, dharmakṣānti (chos la bzod pa) can refer to the ways one becomes “receptive” to the nature of Dharma, and it can be an abbreviation of anutpattikadharmakṣānti, “forbearance for the unborn nature, or nonproduction, of dharmas.”

In this text:

Also rendered here as “forbearance.”

Located in 27 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­48
  • 1.­125
  • 1.­191
  • 4.­21
  • 4.­349
  • 4.­671
  • 4.­750
  • 4.­755
  • 4.­757
  • 4.­952
  • 4.­986
  • 4.­1108
  • 5.­681
  • 5.­686
  • 5.­690
  • 5.­697
  • 5.­702
  • 5.­707
  • 5.­820
  • 5.­832
  • 5.­1083
  • 5.­1094
  • n.­309
  • n.­1543
  • g.­119
  • g.­125
  • g.­299
g.­243

perception

Wylie:
  • ’du shes
Tibetan:
  • འདུ་ཤེས།
Sanskrit:
  • saṃjñā

The third of the five aggregates. The mental processes of recognizing and identifying the objects of the five senses and the mind.

Located in 64 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­42-44
  • 4.­186
  • 4.­204
  • 4.­214
  • 4.­278
  • 4.­281
  • 4.­284
  • 4.­288
  • 4.­373
  • 4.­441
  • 4.­448
  • 4.­503
  • 4.­541
  • 4.­580
  • 4.­624
  • 4.­652
  • 4.­678
  • 4.­691
  • 4.­693
  • 4.­702
  • 4.­830
  • 4.­929
  • 4.­936-939
  • 4.­941
  • 4.­944
  • 4.­946
  • 4.­1085
  • 4.­1258
  • 4.­1293
  • 5.­224
  • 5.­239
  • 5.­298
  • 5.­306
  • 5.­392
  • 5.­464
  • 5.­576
  • 5.­820
  • 5.­976
  • 5.­999
  • 5.­1017
  • 5.­1232
  • 5.­1235
  • 5.­1416
  • 5.­1488
  • 6.­43
  • 6.­61
  • n.­72
  • n.­591
  • n.­607
  • n.­785
  • n.­1098
  • n.­1224
  • n.­1387
  • n.­1957
  • g.­4
  • g.­39
  • g.­219
  • g.­220
  • g.­221
g.­244

perfection

Wylie:
  • pha rol tu phyin pa
Tibetan:
  • ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • pāramitā

This term is used to refer to the main trainings of a bodhisattva. Because these trainings, when brought to perfection, lead one to transcend saṃsāra and reach the full awakening of a buddha, they receive the Sanskrit name pāramitā, meaning “perfection” or “gone to the farther shore.” They are listed as either six or ten. For an explanation of the term given in this text, see 5.­1158.

See “six perfections.”

Located in 216 passages in the translation:

  • i.­53
  • i.­63
  • i.­84
  • i.­103
  • i.­114
  • 1.­2
  • 1.­80
  • 1.­95
  • 1.­97
  • 1.­110
  • 1.­122
  • 1.­124
  • 1.­126
  • 1.­128-129
  • 1.­131
  • 1.­213
  • 4.­6-8
  • 4.­11
  • 4.­13
  • 4.­15
  • 4.­17-23
  • 4.­25
  • 4.­74
  • 4.­96
  • 4.­168-169
  • 4.­250
  • 4.­254
  • 4.­308
  • 4.­317
  • 4.­325-326
  • 4.­366-368
  • 4.­375
  • 4.­378
  • 4.­386-387
  • 4.­390
  • 4.­437
  • 4.­477
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­519
  • 4.­534
  • 4.­656
  • 4.­658-659
  • 4.­671
  • 4.­720
  • 4.­744
  • 4.­747-752
  • 4.­755-757
  • 4.­771-772
  • 4.­787
  • 4.­985
  • 4.­989-990
  • 4.­1020
  • 4.­1094
  • 4.­1100
  • 4.­1107
  • 4.­1109
  • 4.­1168
  • 4.­1183
  • 4.­1207
  • 4.­1217
  • 4.­1228-1229
  • 4.­1261
  • 5.­13
  • 5.­90
  • 5.­103
  • 5.­124
  • 5.­128
  • 5.­130
  • 5.­154
  • 5.­164
  • 5.­173
  • 5.­200
  • 5.­202
  • 5.­246
  • 5.­252
  • 5.­254
  • 5.­279
  • 5.­289
  • 5.­302-303
  • 5.­306
  • 5.­332
  • 5.­369
  • 5.­373-374
  • 5.­400-401
  • 5.­405
  • 5.­409
  • 5.­411-412
  • 5.­416-423
  • 5.­537
  • 5.­570
  • 5.­609
  • 5.­621-622
  • 5.­634
  • 5.­654
  • 5.­679-683
  • 5.­685-688
  • 5.­690-693
  • 5.­695-698
  • 5.­700-703
  • 5.­705-709
  • 5.­713
  • 5.­727
  • 5.­753
  • 5.­791
  • 5.­798
  • 5.­835
  • 5.­839
  • 5.­876
  • 5.­898
  • 5.­949
  • 5.­1011
  • 5.­1071
  • 5.­1079
  • 5.­1126
  • 5.­1159
  • 5.­1161
  • 5.­1214-1217
  • 5.­1243
  • 5.­1248
  • 5.­1250
  • 5.­1278-1279
  • 5.­1398
  • 5.­1411
  • 5.­1449
  • 5.­1463-1466
  • 6.­93
  • n.­8
  • n.­71
  • n.­106
  • n.­309
  • n.­407
  • n.­424
  • n.­433
  • n.­693
  • n.­719
  • n.­982
  • n.­1042
  • n.­1317
  • n.­1319-1320
  • n.­1324
  • n.­1328
  • n.­1334-1335
  • n.­1421
  • n.­1503
  • n.­1530
  • n.­1706
  • n.­1772
  • n.­1859
  • g.­299
  • g.­341
g.­245

perfection of wisdom

Wylie:
  • shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa
Tibetan:
  • ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • prajñā­pāramitā

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The sixth of the six perfections, it refers to the profound understanding of the emptiness of all phenomena, the realization of ultimate reality. It is often personified as a female deity, worshiped as the “Mother of All Buddhas” (sarva­jina­mātā).

Located in 543 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1
  • i.­4-5
  • i.­12
  • i.­14
  • i.­18
  • i.­22
  • i.­33
  • i.­44-47
  • i.­49-51
  • i.­54-55
  • i.­58-59
  • i.­61
  • i.­64-66
  • i.­68
  • i.­93
  • i.­95-99
  • i.­101-106
  • i.­111
  • i.­113
  • i.­117
  • i.­121-122
  • 1.­3
  • 1.­7
  • 1.­49
  • 1.­69
  • 1.­111
  • 1.­136
  • 1.­201
  • 2.­1-4
  • 2.­6
  • 2.­8-16
  • 3.­1-2
  • 3.­10-21
  • 4.­1-2
  • 4.­4-5
  • 4.­8
  • 4.­11-12
  • 4.­20
  • 4.­24-26
  • 4.­32
  • 4.­35
  • 4.­56
  • 4.­70
  • 4.­96
  • 4.­170
  • 4.­172
  • 4.­186-189
  • 4.­192
  • 4.­212
  • 4.­218-219
  • 4.­221
  • 4.­258
  • 4.­290-291
  • 4.­308-310
  • 4.­320
  • 4.­339-340
  • 4.­342
  • 4.­371
  • 4.­381
  • 4.­386
  • 4.­400-402
  • 4.­406
  • 4.­408-410
  • 4.­413
  • 4.­415-417
  • 4.­422
  • 4.­424
  • 4.­429
  • 4.­432
  • 4.­434
  • 4.­437
  • 4.­459
  • 4.­462
  • 4.­468
  • 4.­474
  • 4.­500
  • 4.­503
  • 4.­507
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­536
  • 4.­538-539
  • 4.­562-564
  • 4.­568-569
  • 4.­578
  • 4.­587
  • 4.­590
  • 4.­592
  • 4.­595-596
  • 4.­598
  • 4.­600
  • 4.­605-607
  • 4.­609
  • 4.­611-612
  • 4.­614
  • 4.­616
  • 4.­619
  • 4.­622
  • 4.­624
  • 4.­630
  • 4.­670-671
  • 4.­677-678
  • 4.­745
  • 4.­754
  • 4.­771
  • 4.­1113
  • 4.­1232-1234
  • 4.­1244
  • 4.­1246-1247
  • 4.­1277
  • 4.­1294
  • 4.­1296
  • 4.­1301
  • 5.­1
  • 5.­4
  • 5.­6-7
  • 5.­10-11
  • 5.­47
  • 5.­58
  • 5.­60
  • 5.­68-69
  • 5.­71
  • 5.­78
  • 5.­89-90
  • 5.­96
  • 5.­108-109
  • 5.­119-121
  • 5.­128
  • 5.­132
  • 5.­134
  • 5.­143-146
  • 5.­150-154
  • 5.­157-158
  • 5.­160-161
  • 5.­163
  • 5.­165-168
  • 5.­172-174
  • 5.­177
  • 5.­179-180
  • 5.­182-183
  • 5.­198
  • 5.­201
  • 5.­203
  • 5.­218
  • 5.­247
  • 5.­250-252
  • 5.­255-256
  • 5.­258-259
  • 5.­261-265
  • 5.­267-268
  • 5.­270
  • 5.­272-274
  • 5.­279-280
  • 5.­290-291
  • 5.­293-294
  • 5.­304-306
  • 5.­321
  • 5.­323
  • 5.­325
  • 5.­329-332
  • 5.­335-337
  • 5.­343
  • 5.­345
  • 5.­349-350
  • 5.­352-353
  • 5.­358-360
  • 5.­362
  • 5.­365-369
  • 5.­372-374
  • 5.­376
  • 5.­382-383
  • 5.­405
  • 5.­417
  • 5.­421-422
  • 5.­425
  • 5.­430-431
  • 5.­434
  • 5.­446
  • 5.­451
  • 5.­460-461
  • 5.­463
  • 5.­465-466
  • 5.­474
  • 5.­484
  • 5.­490
  • 5.­511
  • 5.­514
  • 5.­517
  • 5.­519-520
  • 5.­527
  • 5.­531
  • 5.­535
  • 5.­539
  • 5.­569-570
  • 5.­574
  • 5.­576
  • 5.­578
  • 5.­615
  • 5.­634
  • 5.­660
  • 5.­663
  • 5.­666-667
  • 5.­678-679
  • 5.­684
  • 5.­689
  • 5.­694
  • 5.­699
  • 5.­704-705
  • 5.­714-715
  • 5.­719
  • 5.­721-722
  • 5.­724
  • 5.­726
  • 5.­733-734
  • 5.­736
  • 5.­738
  • 5.­740
  • 5.­743-745
  • 5.­751-754
  • 5.­779-781
  • 5.­783
  • 5.­798
  • 5.­800
  • 5.­817-819
  • 5.­821
  • 5.­842
  • 5.­846
  • 5.­849
  • 5.­859
  • 5.­861
  • 5.­864
  • 5.­866-867
  • 5.­869
  • 5.­896-897
  • 5.­905
  • 5.­938-940
  • 5.­943
  • 5.­952
  • 5.­978-979
  • 5.­998
  • 5.­1028
  • 5.­1035
  • 5.­1037-1039
  • 5.­1043
  • 5.­1052
  • 5.­1056
  • 5.­1060
  • 5.­1064
  • 5.­1069
  • 5.­1071-1073
  • 5.­1079-1084
  • 5.­1087-1089
  • 5.­1091
  • 5.­1103-1105
  • 5.­1112
  • 5.­1118-1119
  • 5.­1123
  • 5.­1127
  • 5.­1157
  • 5.­1160-1168
  • 5.­1170-1175
  • 5.­1177
  • 5.­1179-1180
  • 5.­1192
  • 5.­1195
  • 5.­1205
  • 5.­1218
  • 5.­1221
  • 5.­1228
  • 5.­1245
  • 5.­1349
  • 5.­1394
  • 5.­1425
  • 5.­1427-1428
  • 5.­1447-1448
  • 5.­1450
  • 6.­2
  • 6.­37
  • 6.­57
  • 6.­92
  • 6.­104
  • n.­38
  • n.­168
  • n.­256
  • n.­264
  • n.­279
  • n.­307
  • n.­309
  • n.­382
  • n.­433
  • n.­467
  • n.­496
  • n.­576
  • n.­592
  • n.­634
  • n.­718
  • n.­1000
  • n.­1005
  • n.­1013
  • n.­1041
  • n.­1079
  • n.­1138
  • n.­1151
  • n.­1153
  • n.­1155
  • n.­1166
  • n.­1168
  • n.­1180
  • n.­1212
  • n.­1241-1242
  • n.­1250
  • n.­1255
  • n.­1257
  • n.­1266
  • n.­1283
  • n.­1295
  • n.­1297
  • n.­1306
  • n.­1316
  • n.­1319-1320
  • n.­1324
  • n.­1328
  • n.­1335
  • n.­1346
  • n.­1348
  • n.­1372
  • n.­1396
  • n.­1398
  • n.­1409
  • n.­1420
  • n.­1442
  • n.­1490
  • n.­1516
  • n.­1534
  • n.­1549-1550
  • n.­1607
  • n.­1613-1614
  • n.­1625
  • n.­1646
  • n.­1657
  • n.­1671
  • n.­1745
  • n.­1768-1769
  • n.­1823
  • n.­1842-1843
  • n.­1912
  • n.­1933
  • g.­21
  • g.­119
  • g.­216
  • g.­311
g.­246

perseverance

Wylie:
  • brtson ’grus
Tibetan:
  • བརྩོན་འགྲུས།
Sanskrit:
  • vīrya

The fourth of the six perfections, it is also among the seven limbs of awakening, the five faculties, the four legs of miraculous power, and the five powers. Also translated here as “effort.”

Located in 43 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­14
  • 1.­110
  • 1.­128
  • 3.­5
  • 4.­22
  • 4.­350
  • 4.­609-610
  • 4.­620
  • 4.­671
  • 4.­751
  • 4.­755
  • 4.­757
  • 4.­833
  • 4.­866-867
  • 4.­869
  • 4.­871
  • 4.­875
  • 4.­879
  • 4.­881
  • 4.­884
  • 4.­953
  • 4.­985-986
  • 4.­1022
  • 5.­682
  • 5.­687
  • 5.­692
  • 5.­695
  • 5.­703
  • 5.­708
  • 5.­832
  • n.­309
  • n.­514
  • n.­587
  • n.­800
  • g.­116
  • g.­119
  • g.­120
  • g.­142
  • g.­291
  • g.­299
g.­247

pliability

Wylie:
  • shin tu sbyangs pa
Tibetan:
  • ཤིན་ཏུ་སྦྱངས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • prasrabdhi
  • praśrabdhi

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Fifth among the branches or limbs of awakening (Skt. bodhyaṅga); a condition of calm, clarity, and composure in mind and body that serves as an antidote to negativity and confers a mental and physical capacity that facilitates meditation and virtuous action.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­884
  • n.­797
  • g.­291
g.­248

power

Wylie:
  • stobs
Tibetan:
  • སྟོབས།
Sanskrit:
  • bala

Depending on the context, it may refer to the “five powers” or the “ten powers” of a tathāgata or a bodhisattva, or to the ninth of the ten perfections‍—for details of this aspect, see 1.­124.

Located in 46 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­48
  • 1.­80
  • 1.­124
  • 1.­131
  • 1.­212
  • 4.­10
  • 4.­338
  • 4.­589
  • 4.­787
  • 4.­808
  • 4.­870
  • 4.­879-882
  • 4.­973-974
  • 4.­982
  • 4.­984
  • 4.­988
  • 4.­990-991
  • 4.­996-997
  • 5.­175
  • 5.­277
  • 5.­418
  • 5.­950
  • 5.­1038
  • 5.­1383-1384
  • 6.­33
  • 6.­41
  • 6.­92
  • n.­147
  • n.­800
  • n.­826
  • n.­837
  • n.­839
  • n.­848
  • n.­1703
  • n.­1837
  • g.­76
  • g.­120
  • g.­212
  • g.­341
g.­249

Pramuditā

Wylie:
  • rab tu dga’ ba
Tibetan:
  • རབ་ཏུ་དགའ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • pramuditā

Lit. “Joyful.” The first level of accomplishment pertaining to bodhisattvas. See “ten bodhisattva levels.”

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­44
  • 3.­3
  • 4.­92
  • 4.­248
  • 4.­252
  • 4.­366
  • 4.­374
  • 4.­736
  • 4.­985
  • 4.­1186
  • g.­339
g.­250

pratyekabuddha

Wylie:
  • rang sangs rgyas
Tibetan:
  • རང་སངས་རྒྱས།
Sanskrit:
  • pratyekabuddha

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Literally, “buddha for oneself” or “solitary realizer.” Someone who, in his or her last life, attains awakening entirely through their own contemplation, without relying on a teacher. Unlike the awakening of a fully realized buddha (samyaksambuddha), the accomplishment of a pratyeka­buddha is not regarded as final or ultimate. They attain realization of the nature of dependent origination, the selflessness of the person, and a partial realization of the selflessness of phenomena, by observing the suchness of all that arises through interdependence. This is the result of progress in previous lives but, unlike a buddha, they do not have the necessary merit, compassion or motivation to teach others. They are named as “rhinoceros-like” (khaḍgaviṣāṇakalpa) for their preference for staying in solitude or as “congregators” (vargacārin) when their preference is to stay among peers.

Located in 105 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­72
  • 1.­127
  • 1.­216
  • 1.­218
  • 2.­12
  • 3.­15
  • 3.­19
  • 4.­27
  • 4.­70
  • 4.­75
  • 4.­78
  • 4.­82
  • 4.­88
  • 4.­90-91
  • 4.­93
  • 4.­162
  • 4.­223
  • 4.­241-243
  • 4.­245
  • 4.­248
  • 4.­253
  • 4.­256
  • 4.­262
  • 4.­343
  • 4.­374
  • 4.­425
  • 4.­428
  • 4.­436
  • 4.­471
  • 4.­474
  • 4.­534
  • 4.­557
  • 4.­572
  • 4.­671
  • 4.­712
  • 4.­724
  • 4.­735
  • 4.­749
  • 4.­802
  • 4.­908
  • 4.­975-976
  • 4.­983
  • 4.­987
  • 4.­990
  • 4.­1027
  • 4.­1033
  • 4.­1111
  • 4.­1125
  • 4.­1141
  • 4.­1212
  • 4.­1230
  • 4.­1313
  • 5.­87
  • 5.­141
  • 5.­157
  • 5.­177
  • 5.­179
  • 5.­204-206
  • 5.­228
  • 5.­236
  • 5.­241
  • 5.­294-295
  • 5.­421
  • 5.­447
  • 5.­529
  • 5.­533
  • 5.­626
  • 5.­672
  • 5.­768
  • 5.­770
  • 5.­838
  • 5.­845
  • 5.­962
  • 5.­1002
  • 5.­1013
  • 5.­1141-1142
  • 5.­1159
  • 5.­1360
  • 5.­1362
  • 5.­1443
  • 6.­70
  • 6.­86
  • n.­213-214
  • n.­969
  • n.­1492-1493
  • n.­1543
  • n.­1562
  • n.­1929
  • g.­194
  • g.­251
  • g.­339
  • g.­340
  • g.­356
  • g.­357
  • g.­371
g.­251

Pratyekabuddha level

Wylie:
  • rang sangs rgyas sa
Tibetan:
  • རང་སངས་རྒྱས་ས།
Sanskrit:
  • pratyekabuddhabhūmi

The eighth of the ten levels traversed by all practitioners, from the level of an ordinary person until reaching buddhahood. See “ten levels” and “pratyekabuddha.”

Located in 18 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­11
  • 4.­90
  • 4.­248
  • 4.­250-251
  • 4.­500
  • 5.­11
  • 5.­14
  • 5.­624
  • 5.­643
  • 5.­816
  • 5.­839
  • 5.­962
  • 5.­1240
  • n.­219
  • n.­1420
  • n.­1564
  • g.­340
g.­252

prayer

Wylie:
  • smon lam
Tibetan:
  • སྨོན་ལམ།
Sanskrit:
  • praṇidhāna

A declaration of one’s aspirations and vows, and/or an invocation and request of the buddhas, bodhisattvas, etc. It is also one of the ten perfections.

Located in 46 passages in the translation:

  • i.­115
  • i.­120
  • 1.­7
  • 1.­45
  • 1.­53
  • 1.­56
  • 1.­86
  • 1.­92
  • 1.­95
  • 1.­97-98
  • 1.­104
  • 1.­124
  • 1.­128
  • 1.­152
  • 1.­158
  • 1.­169
  • 1.­181
  • 1.­191
  • 3.­5
  • 3.­10
  • 4.­239
  • 4.­241-242
  • 4.­244-246
  • 4.­330
  • 4.­364
  • 4.­400
  • 4.­589
  • 4.­772
  • 4.­1096
  • 4.­1105
  • 5.­1000
  • 5.­1020
  • 5.­1252-1253
  • 5.­1266
  • 5.­1273
  • 6.­91
  • 6.­97
  • n.­574
  • n.­1591
  • n.­1756
  • g.­341
g.­253

preceptor

Wylie:
  • mkhan po
Tibetan:
  • མཁན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • upādhyāya

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A person’s particular preceptor within the monastic tradition. They must have at least ten years of standing in the saṅgha, and their role is to confer ordination, to tend to the student, and to provide all the necessary requisites, therefore guiding that person for the taking of full vows and the maintenance of conduct and practice. This office was decreed by the Buddha so that aspirants would not have to receive ordination from the Buddha in person, and the Buddha identified two types: those who grant entry into the renunciate order and those who grant full ordination. The Tibetan translation mkhan po has also come to mean “a learned scholar,” the equivalent of a paṇḍita, but that is not the intended meaning in Indic Buddhist literature.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­5
  • c.­1
g.­255

purification

Wylie:
  • yongs su sbyang ba
  • yongs su sbyong ba
  • rnam par byang ba
Tibetan:
  • ཡོངས་སུ་སྦྱང་བ།
  • ཡོངས་སུ་སྦྱོང་བ།
  • རྣམ་པར་བྱང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • parikarman
  • vyavadāna

A term meaning purity or purification and broadly referring to the process of purifying the mind of what obscures it in order to attain spiritual awakening. It is often paired with its opposite saṃkleśa, rendered here as “defilement.”

Located in 94 passages in the translation:

  • i.­53
  • i.­76
  • i.­84-85
  • i.­102
  • i.­108
  • 1.­45
  • 1.­91
  • 4.­52
  • 4.­91
  • 4.­189
  • 4.­203-206
  • 4.­213
  • 4.­273
  • 4.­275-276
  • 4.­428
  • 4.­433
  • 4.­435
  • 4.­472
  • 4.­512
  • 4.­517
  • 4.­641-643
  • 4.­663
  • 4.­696-697
  • 4.­702
  • 4.­721
  • 4.­737
  • 4.­908
  • 4.­980
  • 4.­985
  • 4.­990
  • 4.­992
  • 4.­1007
  • 4.­1020
  • 4.­1092
  • 4.­1094-1097
  • 4.­1106
  • 4.­1110
  • 4.­1120
  • 4.­1154
  • 4.­1186
  • 4.­1334
  • 5.­107
  • 5.­187
  • 5.­194
  • 5.­241
  • 5.­287-289
  • 5.­327
  • 5.­361
  • 5.­365
  • 5.­369
  • 5.­400
  • 5.­454
  • 5.­492
  • 5.­575
  • 5.­640
  • 5.­664
  • 5.­910
  • 5.­987-988
  • 5.­999
  • 5.­1030-1031
  • 5.­1057
  • 5.­1059
  • 5.­1126
  • 5.­1354
  • 5.­1382
  • 5.­1465
  • 6.­17
  • 6.­98
  • n.­50
  • n.­81
  • n.­158
  • n.­898-899
  • n.­916
  • n.­1036
  • n.­1696
  • n.­1760
  • n.­1910
  • g.­342
g.­256

Pūrṇa

Wylie:
  • gang po
Tibetan:
  • གང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • pūrṇa

One of the ten principal śrāvaka disciples of the Buddha, he was the greatest in his ability to teach the Dharma.

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­708
  • 4.­711
  • 4.­742
  • 4.­758-759
  • 4.­770
  • 4.­774
  • 4.­784
  • 4.­1232-1233
  • 5.­626
  • n.­643
  • n.­737
  • n.­1005
g.­258

Rāhula

Wylie:
  • sgra gcan zin
Tibetan:
  • སྒྲ་གཅན་ཟིན།
Sanskrit:
  • rāhula

Son of Prince Siddhārtha Gautama, who, when the latter attained awakening as the Buddha Śākyamuni, became a monk and eventually one of his foremost śrāvaka disciples.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­64
  • 4.­184
g.­262

ready confidence

Wylie:
  • spobs pa
Tibetan:
  • སྤོབས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • pratibhāna

Also rendered here as “confident readiness.”

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­1327-1329
  • 4.­1331
  • 4.­1333
  • 4.­1342
g.­263

real basis

Wylie:
  • dngos po
Tibetan:
  • དངོས་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • vastu

Also rendered as “existent thing,” “real thing,” and “something that exists.”

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • i.­118
  • 4.­56
  • 4.­504
  • 4.­788
  • 4.­790
  • 4.­1067
  • 4.­1160
  • 4.­1304
  • 5.­909
  • 5.­971-972
  • 5.­1396
  • 5.­1429
  • 5.­1461
  • n.­743
  • g.­106
  • g.­264
g.­264

real thing

Wylie:
  • dngos po
Tibetan:
  • དངོས་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • bhāva

Also rendered as “existent thing,” “something that exists,” and “real basis.”

Located in 35 passages in the translation:

  • i.­61
  • i.­78
  • 4.­107
  • 4.­126
  • 4.­301
  • 4.­504
  • 4.­506
  • 4.­508
  • 4.­543
  • 4.­603
  • 4.­605
  • 4.­627
  • 4.­704
  • 4.­1110
  • 4.­1179
  • 4.­1261
  • 4.­1268-1269
  • 4.­1271
  • 4.­1330
  • 5.­357
  • 5.­556
  • 5.­856
  • 5.­907-908
  • 5.­1061
  • 5.­1265
  • 5.­1489
  • n.­743-744
  • n.­1902
  • n.­1948
  • n.­1962
  • g.­106
  • g.­263
g.­265

religious mendicant

Wylie:
  • kun tu rgyu
Tibetan:
  • ཀུན་ཏུ་རྒྱུ།
Sanskrit:
  • parivrājaka

See also “parivrājaka.”

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­578-579
  • 4.­583
  • 4.­586
  • 4.­589
  • 5.­150
  • g.­240
  • g.­311
g.­266

right efforts

Wylie:
  • yang dag pa’i spong ba
Tibetan:
  • ཡང་དག་པའི་སྤོང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • samyakprahāṇa

See “four right efforts.”

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­4
  • 1.­91
  • 4.­35
  • 4.­787
  • 4.­866
g.­269

royal family

Wylie:
  • rgyal rigs
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱལ་རིགས།
Sanskrit:
  • kṣatriya

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The ruling caste in the traditional four-caste hierarchy of India, associated with warriors, the aristocracy, and kings.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­255
  • 5.­148
g.­270

Sadāprarudita

Wylie:
  • rtag tu ngu
Tibetan:
  • རྟག་ཏུ་ངུ།
Sanskrit:
  • sadāprarudita

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A bodhisattva famous for his quest for the Dharma and for his devotion to the teacher. It is told that Sadāprarudita, in order to make offerings to the bodhisattva Dharmodgata and request the Prajñāpāramitā teachings, sets out to sell his own flesh and blood. After receiving a first set of teachings, Sadāprarudita waits seven years for the bodhisattva Dharmodgata, his teacher, to emerge from meditation. When he receives signs this is about to happen, he wishes to prepare the ground for the teachings by settling the dust. Māra makes all the water disappear, so Sadāprarudita decides to use his own blood to settle the dust. He is said to be practicing in the presence of Buddha Bhīṣma­garjita­nirghoṣa­svara. His name means "Ever Weeping", on account of the numerous tears he shed until he found the teachings.

His story is told in detail by the Buddha in The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines (Toh 10, ch. 85–86), and can be found quoted in several works, such as The Words of My Perfect Teacher (kun bzang bla ma’i zhal lung) by Patrul Rinpoche.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­17
  • n.­247
  • n.­1933
g.­271

Sādhumatī

Wylie:
  • legs pa’i blo gros
Tibetan:
  • ལེགས་པའི་བློ་གྲོས།
Sanskrit:
  • sādhumatī

Lit. “Auspicious Intellect.” The ninth level of accomplishment pertaining to bodhisattvas. See “ten bodhisattva levels.”

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­106
  • g.­339
g.­274

Śākyamuni

Wylie:
  • shAkya thub pa
Tibetan:
  • ཤཱཀྱ་ཐུབ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • śākyamuni

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

An epithet for the historical Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama: he was a muni (“sage”) from the Śākya clan. He is counted as the fourth of the first four buddhas of the present Good Eon, the other three being Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, and Kāśyapa. He will be followed by Maitreya, the next buddha in this eon.

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • i.­57
  • i.­64
  • 1.­110
  • 1.­146
  • 1.­180
  • n.­171
  • n.­205
  • n.­338
  • n.­426
  • n.­1148
  • n.­1723
  • g.­71
  • g.­258
  • g.­320
  • g.­366
g.­276

sameness

Wylie:
  • mnyam pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • མཉམ་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • samatā

The fact that while all phenomena appear differently, they nonetheless share an identical nature.

Located in 59 passages in the translation:

  • i.­109
  • i.­114
  • 1.­50
  • 1.­58-60
  • 1.­62-69
  • 3.­10
  • 4.­79
  • 4.­300
  • 4.­767-768
  • 4.­1025
  • 4.­1034
  • 4.­1036
  • 4.­1058
  • 4.­1087
  • 4.­1122
  • 5.­241
  • 5.­334
  • 5.­596-597
  • 5.­669
  • 5.­911
  • 5.­914-915
  • 5.­917-919
  • 5.­922
  • 5.­1044
  • 5.­1120-1121
  • 5.­1145
  • 5.­1160
  • 5.­1221
  • 5.­1452
  • 5.­1467
  • 5.­1469-1473
  • n.­84
  • n.­91
  • n.­417
  • n.­876
  • n.­1562
  • n.­1624
  • n.­1681
  • n.­1912
  • n.­1918
g.­277

Sāṃkhya

Wylie:
  • grangs can pa
Tibetan:
  • གྲངས་ཅན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • sāṃkhya

One of the three great divisions of Brahmanical philosophy.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­70
  • 4.­450
g.­278

saṃsāra

Wylie:
  • ’khor ba
Tibetan:
  • འཁོར་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • saṃsāra

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A state of involuntary existence conditioned by afflicted mental states and the imprint of past actions, characterized by suffering in a cycle of life, death, and rebirth. On its reversal, the contrasting state of nirvāṇa is attained, free from suffering and the processes of rebirth.

Located in 64 passages in the translation:

  • i.­86
  • i.­102
  • i.­110
  • i.­120
  • 1.­20
  • 1.­58
  • 1.­213
  • 1.­216
  • 1.­220-221
  • 3.­10
  • 4.­31
  • 4.­61
  • 4.­91-92
  • 4.­101
  • 4.­127
  • 4.­135
  • 4.­137-139
  • 4.­162
  • 4.­306
  • 4.­311
  • 4.­428
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­608
  • 4.­694-695
  • 4.­987
  • 4.­1020
  • 4.­1027
  • 5.­287
  • 5.­545
  • 5.­753
  • 5.­756
  • 5.­777
  • 5.­901
  • 5.­903
  • 5.­1153
  • 5.­1383
  • 6.­70-78
  • 6.­83
  • 6.­88
  • 6.­92-93
  • 6.­95
  • n.­225
  • n.­652
  • n.­1241
  • n.­1846
  • n.­1891
  • g.­55
  • g.­117
  • g.­244
  • g.­368
g.­279

saṅgha

Wylie:
  • dge ’dun
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་འདུན།
Sanskrit:
  • saṅgha

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Though often specifically reserved for the monastic community, this term can be applied to any of the four Buddhist communities‍—monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen‍—as well as to identify the different groups of practitioners, like the community of bodhisattvas or the community of śrāvakas. It is also the third of the Three Jewels (triratna) of Buddhism: the Buddha, the Teaching, and the Community.

In this text:

Also rendered here as “community.”

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­20
  • 4.­335
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­1116
  • 5.­918
  • n.­1760
  • g.­108
  • g.­351
g.­282

Śāriputra

Wylie:
  • shA ri’i bu
Tibetan:
  • ཤཱ་རིའི་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • śāriputra

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the principal śrāvaka disciples of the Buddha, he was renowned for his discipline and for having been praised by the Buddha as foremost of the wise (often paired with Maudgalyā­yana, who was praised as foremost in the capacity for miraculous powers). His father, Tiṣya, to honor Śāriputra’s mother, Śārikā, named him Śāradvatīputra, or, in its contracted form, Śāriputra, meaning “Śārikā’s Son.”

Located in 194 passages in the translation:

  • i.­53
  • i.­55
  • i.­58
  • i.­61
  • i.­63
  • i.­65
  • i.­92-93
  • i.­106
  • 1.­5
  • 1.­197-203
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­3-4
  • 2.­6-7
  • 2.­17
  • 3.­1
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­3-5
  • 4.­8
  • 4.­26
  • 4.­172
  • 4.­186
  • 4.­219-220
  • 4.­224
  • 4.­234
  • 4.­239
  • 4.­242
  • 4.­245
  • 4.­247-248
  • 4.­251-252
  • 4.­258
  • 4.­283
  • 4.­287
  • 4.­310
  • 4.­316
  • 4.­321
  • 4.­323-324
  • 4.­370-372
  • 4.­375-377
  • 4.­381
  • 4.­386
  • 4.­388
  • 4.­398
  • 4.­401-402
  • 4.­490
  • 4.­493-495
  • 4.­500
  • 4.­593-595
  • 4.­603
  • 4.­605-609
  • 4.­612
  • 4.­614
  • 4.­622-623
  • 4.­632-633
  • 4.­635
  • 4.­639-640
  • 4.­642
  • 4.­645
  • 4.­649
  • 4.­677
  • 4.­679
  • 4.­708-709
  • 4.­730
  • 4.­736
  • 4.­739
  • 4.­744-745
  • 4.­760-762
  • 4.­769
  • 4.­771
  • 4.­1248
  • 4.­1251-1253
  • 4.­1262
  • 4.­1266
  • 4.­1268
  • 4.­1294-1295
  • 4.­1301
  • 4.­1304
  • 4.­1306
  • 4.­1314
  • 4.­1316-1317
  • 4.­1319
  • 4.­1321
  • 4.­1323-1325
  • 4.­1327-1328
  • 4.­1331
  • 4.­1333-1334
  • 4.­1337
  • 4.­1340
  • 4.­1342-1343
  • 4.­1361
  • 5.­68
  • 5.­90-91
  • 5.­105
  • 5.­247
  • 5.­252
  • 5.­258-259
  • 5.­279
  • 5.­308-310
  • 5.­312
  • 5.­343
  • 5.­424
  • 5.­428
  • 5.­617
  • 5.­622
  • 5.­625-626
  • 5.­979-981
  • 5.­984-987
  • 5.­989-993
  • 5.­995
  • 5.­997
  • 5.­1060
  • n.­208
  • n.­217-218
  • n.­245
  • n.­247
  • n.­307
  • n.­309
  • n.­433
  • n.­443
  • n.­496
  • n.­509
  • n.­642
  • n.­700
  • n.­996
  • n.­1006
  • n.­1013
  • n.­1075
  • n.­1242
  • n.­1479
  • n.­1492
  • n.­1588
  • n.­1637
  • n.­1970
  • g.­204
  • g.­238
  • g.­385
g.­283

sarva­dharmāparigṛhīta

Wylie:
  • chos thams cad yongs su ma bzung ba
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་ཐམས་ཅད་ཡོངས་སུ་མ་བཟུང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • sarva­dharmāparigṛhīta

Lit. “not grasping at any phenomena at all.” Name of a meditative stabilization.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­572
g.­285

Śatakratu

Wylie:
  • brgya byin
Tibetan:
  • བརྒྱ་བྱིན།
Sanskrit:
  • śakra
  • śatakratu

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The lord of the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (trāyastriṃśa). Alternatively known as Indra, the deity that is called “lord of the gods” dwells on the summit of Mount Sumeru and wields the thunderbolt. The Tibetan translation brgya byin (meaning “one hundred sacrifices”) is based on an etymology that śakra is an abbreviation of śata-kratu, one who has performed a hundred sacrifices. Each world with a central Sumeru has a Śakra. Also known by other names such as Kauśika, Devendra, and Śacipati.

Located in 20 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­17
  • 5.­99
  • 5.­121
  • 5.­146
  • 5.­157
  • 5.­160
  • 5.­173
  • 5.­204
  • 5.­250
  • 5.­252
  • 5.­356
  • 5.­424
  • 5.­429
  • 5.­1020
  • 5.­1044
  • n.­247
  • n.­1623-1624
  • g.­360
  • g.­375
g.­286

secondary afflictions

Wylie:
  • nye ba’i nyon mongs pa
Tibetan:
  • ཉེ་བའི་ཉོན་མོངས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • upakleśa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The subsidiary afflictive emotions that arise in dependence upon the six root afflictive emotions (attachment, hatred, pride, ignorance, doubt, and wrong view); they are (1) anger (krodha, khro ba), (2) enmity/malice (upanāha, ’khon ’dzin), (3) concealment (mrakśa, ’chab pa), (4) outrage (pradāsa, ’tshig pa), (5) jealousy (īrśya, phrag dog), (6) miserliness (matsarya, ser sna), (7) deceit (māyā, sgyu), (8) dishonesty (śāṭhya, g.yo), (9) haughtiness (mada, rgyags pa), (10) harmfulness (vihiṃsa, rnam par ’tshe ba), (11) shamelessness (āhrīkya, ngo tsha med pa), (12) non-consideration (anapatrāpya, khril med pa), (13) lack of faith (aśraddhya, ma dad pa), (14) laziness (kausīdya, le lo), (15) non-conscientiousness (pramāda, bag med pa), (16) forgetfulness (muśitasmṛtitā, brjed nges), (17) non-introspection (asaṃprajanya, shes bzhin ma yin pa), (18) dullness (nigmagṇa, bying ba), (19) agitation (auddhatya, rgod pa), and (20) distraction (vikṣepa, rnam g.yeng) (Rigzin 329, 129).

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • i.­51
  • i.­63
  • 1.­30
  • 4.­6
  • 4.­47
  • 4.­897
  • 5.­80
  • 5.­296
  • 5.­299
  • 5.­309
  • 5.­369
g.­287

sense faculties

Wylie:
  • dbang po
Tibetan:
  • དབང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • indriya

The six sense faculties of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­171
  • 5.­1338
  • n.­1056
  • n.­1224
  • g.­79
  • g.­107
  • g.­296
  • g.­297
  • g.­298
g.­288

sense field

Wylie:
  • skye mched
Tibetan:
  • སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
Sanskrit:
  • āyatana

Twelve sense fields: the six sensory faculties (the eyes, nose, ear, tongue, body, and mind), which form in the womb and eventually have contact with the external six bases of sensory perception (form, smell, sound, taste, touch, and phenomena). In another context in this sūtra, āyatana refers to the four formless absorptions and its stations.

Located in 36 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­4
  • 1.­91
  • 4.­46
  • 4.­105
  • 4.­107
  • 4.­112
  • 4.­114-115
  • 4.­259
  • 4.­421
  • 4.­456
  • 4.­471-472
  • 4.­476
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­532-533
  • 4.­640
  • 4.­702
  • 4.­720
  • 4.­838
  • 4.­1183
  • 4.­1202
  • 4.­1217
  • 4.­1260
  • 5.­489
  • 5.­1476
  • 5.­1491
  • 6.­13
  • n.­392
  • n.­404
  • n.­982
  • n.­1042
  • n.­1760
  • g.­290
  • g.­313
g.­289

settle down on as real

Wylie:
  • mngon par zhen
Tibetan:
  • མངོན་པར་ཞེན།
Sanskrit:
  • abhini√viś

Located in 36 passages in the translation:

  • i.­95
  • i.­101
  • 4.­217-218
  • 4.­221-222
  • 4.­390
  • 4.­435-437
  • 4.­440
  • 4.­650-651
  • 4.­658
  • 4.­1269
  • 4.­1271
  • 4.­1281-1282
  • 4.­1294
  • 4.­1299
  • 5.­155
  • 5.­266
  • 5.­412
  • 5.­482
  • 5.­527
  • 5.­909
  • 5.­1090
  • 5.­1138-1139
  • 5.­1415
  • 5.­1429
  • n.­908
  • n.­1415
  • n.­1657
  • n.­1912
  • g.­101
g.­290

seven emptinesses

Wylie:
  • stong pa nyid bdun
Tibetan:
  • སྟོང་པ་ཉིད་བདུན།
Sanskrit:
  • —

The seven emptinesses are of the aggregates, sense fields, constituents, truths, dependent origination, all dharmas in the sense of dharmas taken as a totality, and compounded and uncompounded dharmas.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­260
  • n.­404
g.­291

seven limbs of awakening

Wylie:
  • byang chub kyi yan lag bdun
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་ཡན་ལག་བདུན།
Sanskrit:
  • sapta­bodhyaṅga

The set of seven factors or aspects that characteristically manifest on the path of seeing: (1) mindfulness (smṛti, dran pa), (2) examination of dharmas (dharma­pravicaya, chos rab tu rnam ’byed/shes rab), (3) perseverance (vīrya, brtson ’grus), (4) joy (prīti, dga’ ba), (5) mental and physical pliability (praśrabdhi, shin sbyangs), (6) meditative stabilization (samādhi, ting nge ’dzin), and (7) equanimity (upekṣā, btang snyoms).

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­787
  • 4.­883
  • g.­246
  • g.­346
g.­292

seven riches

Wylie:
  • nor bdun
Tibetan:
  • ནོར་བདུན།
Sanskrit:
  • saptadhana

The seven riches of noble beings: faith, morality, generosity, learning, modesty, humility, and wisdom.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­60
g.­293

signlessness

Wylie:
  • mtshan ma med pa
Tibetan:
  • མཚན་མ་མེད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • ānimitta
  • animitta

Located in 56 passages in the translation:

  • i.­56
  • i.­108
  • 1.­42
  • 1.­57-60
  • 1.­86
  • 1.­93
  • 1.­121
  • 4.­38
  • 4.­52
  • 4.­79
  • 4.­248
  • 4.­294-295
  • 4.­307
  • 4.­427
  • 4.­462
  • 4.­581
  • 4.­587
  • 4.­627
  • 4.­765
  • 4.­830
  • 4.­887
  • 4.­889
  • 4.­891-892
  • 5.­34
  • 5.­381
  • 5.­432
  • 5.­490
  • 5.­507
  • 5.­511
  • 5.­564
  • 5.­575
  • 5.­615
  • 5.­976
  • 5.­978
  • 5.­1019
  • 5.­1021
  • 5.­1139
  • 5.­1344
  • 5.­1387
  • 5.­1392
  • 5.­1482
  • 6.­41
  • n.­1026
  • n.­1083
  • n.­1224
  • n.­1492
  • n.­1588
  • n.­1609
  • n.­1695
  • g.­154
  • g.­390
g.­295

site of awakening

Wylie:
  • byang chub kyi snying po
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སྙིང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • bodhimaṇḍa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The place where the Buddha Śākyamuni achieved awakening and where every buddha will manifest the attainment of buddhahood. In our world this is understood to be located under the Bodhi tree, the Vajrāsana, in present-day Bodhgaya, India. It can also refer to the state of awakening itself.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­160
  • 4.­176
  • 4.­971
  • 5.­144
  • 5.­954
g.­296

six collections of contacts

Wylie:
  • reg pa’i tshogs drug
  • reg pa drug
Tibetan:
  • རེག་པའི་ཚོགས་དྲུག
  • རེག་པ་དྲུག
Sanskrit:
  • —

The six kinds of contact that occur based on the six sense faculties.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­510
  • 4.­1183
g.­297

six collections of feelings

Wylie:
  • tshor ba’i tshogs drug
  • tshor ba drug
Tibetan:
  • ཚོར་བའི་ཚོགས་དྲུག
  • ཚོར་བ་དྲུག
Sanskrit:
  • —

The six feelings or sensations resulting from contact between the six sense faculties and their objects.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­1183
  • 5.­304
  • 5.­306
g.­298

six faculties

Wylie:
  • dbang po drug
Tibetan:
  • དབང་པོ་དྲུག
Sanskrit:
  • ṣaḍindriya

The six sense faculties of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­624
  • 4.­1126
  • g.­107
g.­299

six perfections

Wylie:
  • pha rol tu phyin pa drug
Tibetan:
  • ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་དྲུག
Sanskrit:
  • ṣaṭpāramitā

The six practices or qualities that a follower of the Great Vehicle perfects in order to transcend cyclic existence and reach the full awakening of a buddha. They are giving, morality, patience, perseverance or effort, concentration, and wisdom. See also “perfection.”

Located in 82 passages in the translation:

  • i.­75
  • i.­101
  • i.­105-106
  • i.­113-114
  • 4.­58
  • 4.­86
  • 4.­168
  • 4.­245
  • 4.­317
  • 4.­322
  • 4.­347
  • 4.­369
  • 4.­387
  • 4.­669
  • 4.­671
  • 4.­745
  • 4.­755
  • 4.­760-761
  • 4.­763
  • 4.­775
  • 4.­1174
  • 4.­1230
  • 5.­102
  • 5.­142
  • 5.­200
  • 5.­207
  • 5.­210
  • 5.­246
  • 5.­255
  • 5.­304
  • 5.­432
  • 5.­536
  • 5.­571
  • 5.­615
  • 5.­624
  • 5.­725
  • 5.­797
  • 5.­833
  • 5.­836
  • 5.­858
  • 5.­999
  • 5.­1075
  • 5.­1078
  • 5.­1091-1092
  • 5.­1219
  • 5.­1235
  • 5.­1241
  • 5.­1245
  • 5.­1247
  • 5.­1250
  • 5.­1342-1343
  • 5.­1397
  • 5.­1432
  • 5.­1441
  • n.­438
  • n.­631
  • n.­706
  • n.­741
  • n.­1065
  • n.­1311
  • n.­1516
  • n.­1556
  • n.­1591
  • n.­1623
  • n.­1639
  • n.­1647
  • n.­1650
  • n.­1769
  • n.­1816
  • n.­1877
  • g.­119
  • g.­152
  • g.­156
  • g.­244
  • g.­246
  • g.­341
  • g.­389
g.­300

six principles of being liked

Wylie:
  • yang dag par sdud par ’gyur ba’i chos drug
Tibetan:
  • ཡང་དག་པར་སྡུད་པར་འགྱུར་བའི་ཆོས་དྲུག
Sanskrit:
  • ṣaṭsaṃrañjanīya

See 4.­59.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­59
g.­301

six sense fields

Wylie:
  • skye mched drug
Tibetan:
  • སྐྱེ་མཆེད་དྲུག
Sanskrit:
  • ṣaḍāyatana

Fifth of the twelve links of dependent origination, it consists of the six sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and thinking mind) together with their respective objects (forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, and dharmas).

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­26
  • 4.­665
  • 4.­826
  • g.­369
g.­303

sixty-four arts

Wylie:
  • sgyu rtsal drug cu rtsa bzhi
Tibetan:
  • སྒྱུ་རྩལ་དྲུག་ཅུ་རྩ་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • catuḥṣaṣṭikalā

These include writing and mathematics, and also different sports, crafts, dancing, acting, and the playing of various instruments. MW s.v. kalā gives the sixty-four Skt names as they are found in the Śaivatantra starting with the art of singing, speaking, dancing, writing, drawing and so on.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­43
g.­305

skillful means

Wylie:
  • thabs mkhas
Tibetan:
  • ཐབས་མཁས།
Sanskrit:
  • upāyakauśalya

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The concept of skillful or expedient means is central to the understanding of the Buddha’s enlightened deeds and the many scriptures that are revealed contingent on the needs, interests, and mental dispositions of specific types of individuals. It is, therefore, equated with compassion and the form body of the buddhas, the rūpakāya.

According to the Great Vehicle, training in skillful means collectively denotes the first five of the six perfections when integrated with wisdom, the sixth perfection. It is therefore paired with wisdom (prajñā), forming the two indispensable aspects of the path. It is also the seventh of the ten perfections. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)

Located in 83 passages in the translation:

  • i.­52
  • i.­55
  • i.­63
  • i.­75
  • i.­105
  • i.­113
  • 1.­69
  • 1.­95
  • 1.­97
  • 1.­131
  • 1.­191
  • 1.­214
  • 1.­222
  • 4.­7
  • 4.­19
  • 4.­40
  • 4.­182-183
  • 4.­324-326
  • 4.­402
  • 4.­409
  • 4.­435
  • 4.­609
  • 4.­611-612
  • 4.­614
  • 4.­620
  • 4.­625
  • 4.­658
  • 4.­666-671
  • 4.­673
  • 4.­675
  • 4.­772
  • 4.­867
  • 4.­1094
  • 4.­1302
  • 5.­143
  • 5.­148
  • 5.­535
  • 5.­538-539
  • 5.­615-617
  • 5.­710-711
  • 5.­791
  • 5.­804
  • 5.­869
  • 5.­895
  • 5.­950
  • 5.­977
  • 5.­1078
  • 5.­1192
  • 5.­1214
  • 5.­1219
  • 5.­1273
  • 5.­1392
  • 5.­1396-1397
  • 5.­1428
  • 5.­1444
  • 6.­92
  • 6.­94
  • 6.­98
  • n.­1044
  • n.­1420
  • n.­1490
  • n.­1492
  • n.­1588
  • n.­1609
  • n.­1650
  • n.­1732
  • n.­1886
  • n.­1912
  • g.­341
g.­306

soul

Wylie:
  • bdag
Tibetan:
  • བདག
Sanskrit:
  • ātman

Also translated often as “self” or “I.”

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­107
  • 4.­440
  • 4.­446-450
  • 4.­452
g.­307

special insight

Wylie:
  • lhag mthong
Tibetan:
  • ལྷག་མཐོང་།
Sanskrit:
  • vipaśyanā

An important form of Buddhist meditation focusing on developing insight into the nature of phenomena. Often presented as one of a pair of meditation techniques, the other being “calm abiding.”

Located in 35 passages in the translation:

  • i.­55
  • i.­64
  • i.­69
  • 1.­49-50
  • 1.­91
  • 1.­123
  • 4.­42
  • 4.­53
  • 4.­425-426
  • 4.­430
  • 4.­480
  • 4.­497
  • 4.­851
  • 4.­874
  • 4.­884
  • 4.­985
  • 4.­990
  • 4.­993
  • 4.­1022
  • 4.­1166
  • 4.­1185
  • 5.­191
  • 5.­353
  • 5.­437
  • 5.­439
  • 5.­574
  • 5.­955
  • 5.­1003
  • n.­67
  • n.­474
  • n.­799
  • g.­134
  • g.­326
g.­308

spiritual friend

Wylie:
  • dge ba’i bshes gnyen
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་བའི་བཤེས་གཉེན།
Sanskrit:
  • kalyāṇamitra

A spiritual teacher who can contribute to an individual’s progress on the spiritual path to awakening and act wholeheartedly for the welfare of students.

Located in 18 passages in the translation:

  • i.­33
  • i.­75
  • i.­105
  • 4.­625
  • 4.­667
  • 4.­669
  • 4.­673-675
  • 4.­1101-1102
  • 5.­540
  • 5.­1027
  • 5.­1031
  • 5.­1214
  • 6.­97
  • n.­1250
  • n.­1614
g.­310

śrāvaka

Wylie:
  • nyan thos
Tibetan:
  • ཉན་ཐོས།
Sanskrit:
  • śrāvaka

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Sanskrit term śrāvaka, and the Tibetan nyan thos, both derived from the verb “to hear,” are usually defined as “those who hear the teaching from the Buddha and make it heard to others.” Primarily this refers to those disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain the state of an arhat seeking their own liberation and nirvāṇa. They are the practitioners of the first turning of the wheel of the Dharma on the four noble truths, who realize the suffering inherent in saṃsāra and focus on understanding that there is no independent self. By conquering afflicted mental states (kleśa), they liberate themselves, attaining first the stage of stream enterers at the path of seeing, followed by the stage of once-returners who will be reborn only one more time, and then the stage of non-returners who will no longer be reborn into the desire realm. The final goal is to become an arhat. These four stages are also known as the “four results of spiritual practice.”

Located in 176 passages in the translation:

  • i.­55
  • i.­58
  • i.­63
  • i.­69
  • i.­84
  • i.­95
  • i.­120
  • 1.­72-73
  • 1.­127
  • 1.­139
  • 1.­216
  • 1.­222-224
  • 2.­12
  • 3.­11
  • 3.­15
  • 3.­19
  • 4.­27
  • 4.­61
  • 4.­75
  • 4.­78
  • 4.­82
  • 4.­88
  • 4.­90-91
  • 4.­93
  • 4.­129
  • 4.­143
  • 4.­162
  • 4.­223
  • 4.­226
  • 4.­234
  • 4.­241-243
  • 4.­245
  • 4.­248
  • 4.­250-251
  • 4.­253-254
  • 4.­256
  • 4.­343
  • 4.­374
  • 4.­392
  • 4.­403
  • 4.­405
  • 4.­421
  • 4.­425
  • 4.­428
  • 4.­430
  • 4.­432
  • 4.­436
  • 4.­471-472
  • 4.­474
  • 4.­499-500
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­534
  • 4.­557
  • 4.­572
  • 4.­634
  • 4.­638
  • 4.­671
  • 4.­724
  • 4.­735
  • 4.­749
  • 4.­795
  • 4.­802
  • 4.­820
  • 4.­839
  • 4.­879
  • 4.­908
  • 4.­931
  • 4.­975-976
  • 4.­983
  • 4.­987
  • 4.­990
  • 4.­1022
  • 4.­1027
  • 4.­1033
  • 4.­1111
  • 4.­1125
  • 4.­1141
  • 4.­1230
  • 4.­1266
  • 4.­1312
  • 5.­5
  • 5.­11
  • 5.­14
  • 5.­49
  • 5.­87
  • 5.­141
  • 5.­157
  • 5.­171
  • 5.­177
  • 5.­205-206
  • 5.­226
  • 5.­228
  • 5.­241
  • 5.­294-295
  • 5.­421
  • 5.­447
  • 5.­529
  • 5.­533
  • 5.­615
  • 5.­624
  • 5.­626
  • 5.­643
  • 5.­672
  • 5.­768
  • 5.­770
  • 5.­816
  • 5.­838-839
  • 5.­845
  • 5.­1002
  • 5.­1006
  • 5.­1009
  • 5.­1013
  • 5.­1139
  • 5.­1141-1142
  • 5.­1159
  • 5.­1240
  • 5.­1362
  • 5.­1387
  • 5.­1443
  • 5.­1451
  • 5.­1455-1456
  • 5.­1491
  • 6.­66
  • 6.­70
  • 6.­83
  • 6.­86-87
  • 6.­92
  • 6.­99-100
  • n.­208
  • n.­214
  • n.­747
  • n.­764
  • n.­969
  • n.­1187
  • n.­1224
  • n.­1420
  • n.­1492-1493
  • n.­1510
  • n.­1543
  • n.­1588
  • n.­1609
  • n.­1630
  • n.­1710
  • n.­1773
  • n.­1929
  • g.­194
  • g.­204
  • g.­216
  • g.­256
  • g.­258
  • g.­311
  • g.­320
  • g.­339
  • g.­340
  • g.­346
  • g.­356
  • g.­357
g.­311

Śreṇika

Wylie:
  • bzo sbyangs
Tibetan:
  • བཟོ་སྦྱངས།
Sanskrit:
  • śreṇika

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A mendicant whose encounter with the Buddha and acceptance of him as the tathāgata features in the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras as evidence that the Buddha’s omniscience is not something to be understood through signs or characteristics. Also known as Śreṇika Vatsagotra.

The three different renderings of his name in Tibetan‍—sde can, phreng ba can, and bzo sbyangs (which may correspond to Skt. Seniṣka, Prakniṣka, and Śaniṣka)‍—are taken as markers for three different Tibetan translations of the Aṣṭa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā, as mentioned in the catalog of the Phukdrak (phug brag) Kangyur and the Thamphü (tham phud) of the Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lozang Gyatso.

In this text:

A religious mendicant, a śrāvaka, who gained nirvāṇa by listening to this teaching on the perfection of wisdom.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­578-579
  • 4.­586
  • 4.­589
g.­313

station

Wylie:
  • skye mched
Tibetan:
  • སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
Sanskrit:
  • āyatana

Here station refers to sucessive stages of formless absorption, namely: station of endless space, station of endless consciousness, station of nothing-at-all, and station of neither perception nor nonperception. In other contexts in this sūtra, āyatana refers to the twelve sense fields; see “sense field.”

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • g.­288
g.­314

station of endless consciousness

Wylie:
  • rnam shes mtha’ yas skye mched
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་ཤེས་མཐའ་ཡས་སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
Sanskrit:
  • vijñānānantyāyatana

Second of the four formless realms. The term also refers to the class of gods that dwell there, and the name of the second of the four formless absorptions. The other three realms are the station of endless space, the station of nothing-at-all, and the station of neither perception nor nonperception.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­939-940
  • g.­140
  • g.­219
  • g.­221
  • g.­313
  • g.­315
  • g.­316
  • g.­317
g.­315

station of endless space

Wylie:
  • nam mkha’ mtha’ yas skye mched
Tibetan:
  • ནམ་མཁའ་མཐའ་ཡས་སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
Sanskrit:
  • ākāśānantyāyatana

First of the four formless realms. The term also refers to the class of gods that dwell there and the name of the first of the four formless absorptions. The other three realms are the station of endless consciousness, the station of nothing-at-all, and the station of neither perception nor nonperception.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­938-939
  • g.­140
  • g.­219
  • g.­221
  • g.­313
  • g.­314
  • g.­316
  • g.­317
g.­316

station of neither perception nor nonperception

Wylie:
  • ’du shes med ’du shes med min skye mched
Tibetan:
  • འདུ་ཤེས་མེད་འདུ་ཤེས་མེད་མིན་སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
Sanskrit:
  • naiva­saṃjñā­nāsaṃjñāyatana

The highest of the four formless realms. The term also refers to the class of gods that dwell there and the name of the fourth of the four formless absorptions. The other three realms are the station of endless space, the station of endless consciousness, and the station of nothing-at-all.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • g.­140
  • g.­219
  • g.­221
  • g.­313
  • g.­314
  • g.­315
  • g.­317
g.­317

station of nothing-at-all

Wylie:
  • ci yang med pa’i skye mched
Tibetan:
  • ཅི་ཡང་མེད་པའི་སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
Sanskrit:
  • ākiṃcityāyatana

Third of the four formless realms. The term also refers to the class of gods that dwell there and the third of the four formless absorptions. The other three realms are the station of endless space, the station of endless consciousness, and the station of neither perception nor nonperception.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­940-941
  • g.­219
  • g.­221
  • g.­313
  • g.­314
  • g.­315
  • g.­316
g.­318

stream enterer

Wylie:
  • rgyun du zhugs pa
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱུན་དུ་ཞུགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • srotaāpanna

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One who has achieved the first level of attainment on the path of the śrāvakas, and who has entered the “stream” of practice that leads to nirvāṇa. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)

Located in 56 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­91
  • 1.­208
  • 4.­29
  • 4.­31
  • 4.­52
  • 4.­70
  • 4.­82
  • 4.­87
  • 4.­234
  • 4.­256
  • 4.­341
  • 4.­534
  • 4.­640
  • 4.­969
  • 4.­985
  • 4.­1135-1136
  • 4.­1211
  • 4.­1313-1315
  • 4.­1320
  • 4.­1322
  • 4.­1333
  • 5.­178
  • 5.­204
  • 5.­236
  • 5.­437
  • 5.­439
  • 5.­775-776
  • 5.­957
  • 5.­981
  • 5.­1057
  • 5.­1059
  • 5.­1062
  • 5.­1149
  • 5.­1151
  • 5.­1222
  • 5.­1370-1371
  • 5.­1377
  • 5.­1451
  • 5.­1460
  • 6.­89-90
  • 6.­92
  • 6.­98
  • n.­215
  • n.­812
  • n.­832
  • n.­846
  • n.­1110
  • n.­1562
  • n.­1564
  • g.­53
g.­320

Subhūti

Wylie:
  • rab ’byor
Tibetan:
  • རབ་འབྱོར།
Sanskrit:
  • subhūti

One of the ten great śrāvaka disciples of the Buddha Śākyamuni, known for his profound understanding of emptiness. He plays a major role as an interlocutor of the Buddha in the Prajñā­pāramitā­sūtras.

Located in 459 passages in the translation:

  • i.­50
  • i.­53
  • i.­55
  • i.­68
  • i.­83
  • i.­91-93
  • i.­95
  • i.­106-107
  • i.­113
  • i.­115
  • i.­117
  • 2.­11
  • 2.­13
  • 2.­17
  • 3.­4
  • 4.­54
  • 4.­88
  • 4.­402-404
  • 4.­406-416
  • 4.­418
  • 4.­422
  • 4.­424
  • 4.­434
  • 4.­437-439
  • 4.­454-457
  • 4.­459-465
  • 4.­468
  • 4.­489-496
  • 4.­503
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­603-604
  • 4.­607
  • 4.­625
  • 4.­634
  • 4.­636
  • 4.­660-661
  • 4.­671
  • 4.­673
  • 4.­675
  • 4.­679-680
  • 4.­682-683
  • 4.­685-686
  • 4.­688
  • 4.­690-691
  • 4.­693-694
  • 4.­696-700
  • 4.­702
  • 4.­708
  • 4.­710
  • 4.­725
  • 4.­734-735
  • 4.­739
  • 4.­774
  • 4.­776
  • 4.­779-780
  • 4.­782
  • 4.­786
  • 4.­807-808
  • 4.­818
  • 4.­887
  • 4.­1092
  • 4.­1111
  • 4.­1147-1149
  • 4.­1157
  • 4.­1174-1176
  • 4.­1181
  • 4.­1186
  • 4.­1192-1193
  • 4.­1215
  • 4.­1221
  • 4.­1226
  • 4.­1232-1233
  • 4.­1294
  • 4.­1303
  • 4.­1307
  • 4.­1312
  • 4.­1320
  • 4.­1323
  • 4.­1326-1327
  • 4.­1331-1332
  • 4.­1335
  • 4.­1338-1339
  • 5.­5
  • 5.­69-70
  • 5.­74
  • 5.­76
  • 5.­78
  • 5.­90-91
  • 5.­105
  • 5.­109-111
  • 5.­204-205
  • 5.­207
  • 5.­210-211
  • 5.­213
  • 5.­219
  • 5.­223
  • 5.­230
  • 5.­270
  • 5.­280
  • 5.­282
  • 5.­285
  • 5.­305
  • 5.­324
  • 5.­326
  • 5.­328-330
  • 5.­334
  • 5.­336
  • 5.­342-344
  • 5.­356
  • 5.­360-361
  • 5.­365
  • 5.­369-371
  • 5.­373
  • 5.­387-388
  • 5.­451
  • 5.­460
  • 5.­463
  • 5.­465
  • 5.­467
  • 5.­469
  • 5.­471
  • 5.­473
  • 5.­476
  • 5.­484
  • 5.­489
  • 5.­516-517
  • 5.­520
  • 5.­522
  • 5.­524
  • 5.­526
  • 5.­528
  • 5.­531
  • 5.­535
  • 5.­539
  • 5.­542
  • 5.­548
  • 5.­552
  • 5.­555
  • 5.­557
  • 5.­569
  • 5.­576
  • 5.­583-584
  • 5.­589-592
  • 5.­594
  • 5.­598
  • 5.­625-627
  • 5.­633-634
  • 5.­638
  • 5.­644-645
  • 5.­846
  • 5.­931-932
  • 5.­934
  • 5.­945
  • 5.­967
  • 5.­969
  • 5.­980-982
  • 5.­985-987
  • 5.­989-991
  • 5.­994
  • 5.­998
  • 5.­1002
  • 5.­1008
  • 5.­1014
  • 5.­1028-1029
  • 5.­1031
  • 5.­1034
  • 5.­1038
  • 5.­1042
  • 5.­1047
  • 5.­1053
  • 5.­1061
  • 5.­1065-1066
  • 5.­1069-1071
  • 5.­1073-1074
  • 5.­1080
  • 5.­1082
  • 5.­1085-1086
  • 5.­1091
  • 5.­1097-1098
  • 5.­1103
  • 5.­1108-1113
  • 5.­1115
  • 5.­1123
  • 5.­1125
  • 5.­1127
  • 5.­1130
  • 5.­1132
  • 5.­1134
  • 5.­1137
  • 5.­1139-1141
  • 5.­1145
  • 5.­1150
  • 5.­1152
  • 5.­1156-1158
  • 5.­1160
  • 5.­1165
  • 5.­1178
  • 5.­1182
  • 5.­1187
  • 5.­1189
  • 5.­1198
  • 5.­1200-1201
  • 5.­1218
  • 5.­1222
  • 5.­1226
  • 5.­1232
  • 5.­1236
  • 5.­1238
  • 5.­1348
  • 5.­1350-1351
  • 5.­1362
  • 5.­1365-1367
  • 5.­1370-1374
  • 5.­1377
  • 5.­1380
  • 5.­1384-1385
  • 5.­1389-1391
  • 5.­1393-1394
  • 5.­1397
  • 5.­1400-1401
  • 5.­1420
  • 5.­1436-1437
  • 5.­1440-1441
  • 5.­1447-1448
  • 5.­1450
  • 5.­1454
  • 5.­1463-1465
  • 5.­1467-1468
  • 5.­1471-1472
  • 5.­1475
  • 5.­1485
  • 5.­1489-1490
  • 5.­1495
  • n.­245
  • n.­247
  • n.­443
  • n.­457
  • n.­467
  • n.­476
  • n.­487
  • n.­509
  • n.­515
  • n.­642
  • n.­683
  • n.­723
  • n.­738
  • n.­892
  • n.­921
  • n.­928
  • n.­930
  • n.­933
  • n.­939
  • n.­941
  • n.­973
  • n.­996
  • n.­1005-1006
  • n.­1013
  • n.­1075
  • n.­1237
  • n.­1241
  • n.­1266
  • n.­1308
  • n.­1316-1317
  • n.­1323-1324
  • n.­1334
  • n.­1346
  • n.­1402
  • n.­1409
  • n.­1415
  • n.­1420
  • n.­1442
  • n.­1455
  • n.­1459
  • n.­1492
  • n.­1513
  • n.­1545
  • n.­1570
  • n.­1572
  • n.­1574
  • n.­1576
  • n.­1578
  • n.­1588
  • n.­1607
  • n.­1613
  • n.­1618-1620
  • n.­1622-1623
  • n.­1629
  • n.­1635
  • n.­1637
  • n.­1641
  • n.­1657
  • n.­1677
  • n.­1689
  • n.­1701
  • n.­1723
  • n.­1726-1727
  • n.­1729
  • n.­1734
  • n.­1744
  • n.­1755
  • n.­1757
  • n.­1760
  • n.­1763
  • n.­1767
  • n.­1773
  • n.­1814
  • n.­1823
  • n.­1831
  • n.­1833
  • n.­1838-1839
  • n.­1841-1843
  • n.­1876
  • n.­1878
  • n.­1880
  • n.­1882
  • n.­1886
  • n.­1892
  • n.­1896
  • n.­1902
  • n.­1906
  • n.­1912
  • n.­1920-1921
  • n.­1931-1932
  • n.­1970
g.­321

suchness

Wylie:
  • de bzhin nyid
Tibetan:
  • དེ་བཞིན་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • tathātva
  • tathatā

The quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms. Also rendered here as tathatā and true reality, or simply reality.

Located in 250 passages in the translation:

  • i.­55
  • i.­61
  • i.­69
  • i.­76
  • i.­78-79
  • i.­110
  • i.­112
  • 1.­58
  • 1.­63-64
  • 1.­69
  • 1.­93
  • 1.­208
  • 3.­4
  • 3.­6-7
  • 3.­12
  • 4.­15-16
  • 4.­25
  • 4.­49
  • 4.­85
  • 4.­88
  • 4.­98
  • 4.­112
  • 4.­159-160
  • 4.­162-163
  • 4.­276
  • 4.­280
  • 4.­313
  • 4.­433
  • 4.­436
  • 4.­455-458
  • 4.­467
  • 4.­510-511
  • 4.­513-515
  • 4.­522-524
  • 4.­534
  • 4.­545
  • 4.­547
  • 4.­550
  • 4.­559
  • 4.­628
  • 4.­631
  • 4.­642-643
  • 4.­686
  • 4.­690
  • 4.­719
  • 4.­737
  • 4.­777
  • 4.­781
  • 4.­797
  • 4.­814
  • 4.­910
  • 4.­914
  • 4.­1025
  • 4.­1036
  • 4.­1043
  • 4.­1045-1049
  • 4.­1054
  • 4.­1070-1071
  • 4.­1087
  • 4.­1093
  • 4.­1124
  • 4.­1148-1152
  • 4.­1157
  • 4.­1164-1165
  • 4.­1183
  • 4.­1194
  • 4.­1199
  • 4.­1215-1217
  • 4.­1251
  • 4.­1268
  • 4.­1277
  • 4.­1283
  • 4.­1285
  • 4.­1287
  • 4.­1292
  • 4.­1310
  • 4.­1313
  • 4.­1315
  • 4.­1318
  • 4.­1320
  • 4.­1326
  • 4.­1333-1334
  • 4.­1340
  • 5.­44-45
  • 5.­107
  • 5.­115
  • 5.­117
  • 5.­124
  • 5.­164
  • 5.­183
  • 5.­194-196
  • 5.­221
  • 5.­241
  • 5.­286
  • 5.­291
  • 5.­321-322
  • 5.­346-347
  • 5.­398
  • 5.­402
  • 5.­433
  • 5.­464-465
  • 5.­484
  • 5.­489
  • 5.­499-502
  • 5.­504
  • 5.­510
  • 5.­523
  • 5.­547-548
  • 5.­550
  • 5.­562
  • 5.­576
  • 5.­578-579
  • 5.­583-585
  • 5.­587-592
  • 5.­594
  • 5.­596-598
  • 5.­602-603
  • 5.­609
  • 5.­613
  • 5.­625-626
  • 5.­630
  • 5.­634-636
  • 5.­648
  • 5.­656
  • 5.­676-677
  • 5.­729
  • 5.­850
  • 5.­909
  • 5.­931-934
  • 5.­966-969
  • 5.­971
  • 5.­973
  • 5.­1004
  • 5.­1038
  • 5.­1045
  • 5.­1065
  • 5.­1067-1068
  • 5.­1070
  • 5.­1074
  • 5.­1096
  • 5.­1111
  • 5.­1143
  • 5.­1150
  • 5.­1152
  • 5.­1154
  • 5.­1161
  • 5.­1168
  • 5.­1172
  • 5.­1178-1180
  • 5.­1197-1198
  • 5.­1362
  • 5.­1364
  • 5.­1367-1368
  • 5.­1388
  • 5.­1390
  • 5.­1396
  • 5.­1452
  • 5.­1461
  • 5.­1476
  • 6.­51
  • 6.­58
  • 6.­64
  • n.­472
  • n.­525
  • n.­876
  • n.­979-980
  • n.­989-990
  • n.­1036
  • n.­1136
  • n.­1335
  • n.­1399
  • n.­1450
  • n.­1455
  • n.­1474-1475
  • n.­1509-1510
  • n.­1521
  • n.­1720-1721
  • g.­14
  • g.­66
  • g.­337
  • g.­365
g.­322

Śuddhāvāsa

Wylie:
  • gnas gtsang ma
Tibetan:
  • གནས་གཙང་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • śuddhāvāsa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The five Pure Abodes are the highest heavens of the Form Realm (rūpadhātu). They are called “pure abodes” because ordinary beings (pṛthagjana; so so’i skye bo) cannot be born there; only those who have achieved the fruit of a non-returner (anāgāmin; phyir mi ’ong) can be born there. A summary presentation of them is found in the third chapter of Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakośa, although they are repeatedly mentioned as a set in numerous sūtras, tantras, and vinaya texts.

The five Pure Abodes are the last five of the seventeen levels of the Form Realm. Specifically, they are the last five of the eight levels of the upper Form Realm‍—which corresponds to the fourth meditative concentration (dhyāna; bsam gtan)‍—all of which are described as “immovable” (akopya; mi g.yo ba) since they are never destroyed during the cycles of the destruction and reformation of a world system. In particular, the five are Abṛha (mi che ba), the inferior heaven; Atapa (mi gdung ba), the heaven of no torment; Sudṛśa (gya nom snang), the heaven of sublime appearances; Sudarśana (shin tu mthong), the heaven of the most beautiful to behold; and Akaniṣṭha (’og min), the highest heaven.

Yaśomitra explains their names, stating: (1) because those who abide there can only remain for a fixed amount of time, before they are plucked out (√bṛh, bṛṃhanti) of that heaven, or because it is not as extensive (abṛṃhita) as the others in the pure realms, that heaven is called the inferior heaven (abṛha; mi che ba); (2) since the afflictions can no longer torment (√tap, tapanti) those who reside there because of their having attained a particular samādhi, or because their state of mind is virtuous, they no longer torment (√tap, tāpayanti) others, this heaven, consequently, is called the heaven of no torment (atapa; mi gdung ba); (3) since those who reside there have exceptional (suṣṭhu) vision because what they see (√dṛś, darśana) is utterly pure, that heaven is called the heaven of sublime appearances (sudṛśa; gya nom snang); (4) because those who reside there are beautiful gods, that heaven is called the heaven of the most beautiful to behold (sudarśana; shin tu mthong); and (5) since it is not lower (na kaniṣṭhā) than any other heaven because there is no other place superior to it, this heaven is called the highest heaven (akaniṣṭha; ’og min) since it is the uppermost.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­701
  • 4.­1009
g.­326

Śuklavipaśyanā level

Wylie:
  • dkar po rnam par mthong ba’i sa
Tibetan:
  • དཀར་པོ་རྣམ་པར་མཐོང་བའི་ས།
Sanskrit:
  • śuklavipaśyanābhūmi

Lit. “Bright Insight level.” The first of the ten levels traversed by all practitioners, from the level of an ordinary person until reaching buddhahood. See “ten levels.”

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­1133
  • 4.­1166
  • 4.­1186
  • 5.­955
  • g.­340
g.­327

Sumeru

Wylie:
  • ri rab
Tibetan:
  • རི་རབ།
Sanskrit:
  • sumeru

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

According to ancient Buddhist cosmology, this is the great mountain forming the axis of the universe. At its summit is Sudarśana, home of Śakra and his thirty-two gods, and on its flanks live the asuras. The mount has four sides facing the cardinal directions, each of which is made of a different precious stone. Surrounding it are several mountain ranges and the great ocean where the four principal island continents lie: in the south, Jambudvīpa (our world); in the west, Godānīya; in the north, Uttarakuru; and in the east, Pūrvavideha. Above it are the abodes of the desire realm gods. It is variously referred to as Meru, Mount Meru, Sumeru, and Mount Sumeru.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­1080
  • g.­135
  • g.­360
g.­328

śūraṅgama

Wylie:
  • dpa’ bar ’gro ba
Tibetan:
  • དཔའ་བར་འགྲོ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • śūraṅgama

Lit. “heroic march.” Name of a meditative stabilization.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­151
  • 4.­815
g.­329

Surendrabodhi

Wylie:
  • su ren+d+ra bo d+hi
Tibetan:
  • སུ་རེནྡྲ་བོ་དྷི།
Sanskrit:
  • surendrabodhi

An Indian paṇḍiṭa resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­5
  • c.­1
g.­330

sustained thought

Wylie:
  • dpyod pa
Tibetan:
  • དཔྱོད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • vicāra

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­8
  • 1.­150
  • 4.­911
  • 4.­922
  • 4.­925-927
  • 4.­929
  • 4.­992
  • 5.­391
  • 5.­458
  • n.­179
g.­332

sūtra

Wylie:
  • mdo
Tibetan:
  • མདོ།
Sanskrit:
  • sūtra

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In Sanskrit literally “a thread,” this is an ancient term for teachings that were memorized and orally transmitted in an essential form. Therefore, it can also mean “pithy statements,” “rules,” and “aphorisms.” In Buddhism it refers to the Buddha’s teachings, whatever their length. It is one of the three divisions of the Buddha’s teachings, the other two being Vinaya and Abhidharma. It is also used in contrast with the tantra teachings, though a number of important tantras have sūtra in their title. It is also classified as one of the nine or twelve aspects of the Dharma, in which context sūtra means “a teaching given in prose.”

Located in 96 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1
  • i.­3-4
  • i.­20
  • i.­23
  • i.­29
  • i.­44-45
  • i.­50
  • i.­55
  • i.­58
  • i.­63-64
  • i.­66
  • i.­81
  • i.­103-104
  • i.­107
  • i.­118
  • i.­121-122
  • 1.­31
  • 1.­48
  • 1.­57
  • 1.­89
  • 1.­99
  • 1.­124
  • 1.­136
  • 1.­139
  • 1.­149
  • 1.­157
  • 1.­160
  • 1.­206
  • 1.­212
  • 1.­217
  • 2.­17
  • 4.­400
  • 4.­761
  • 4.­763
  • 4.­817
  • 4.­994-995
  • 5.­424
  • 5.­437
  • 5.­439
  • 5.­1281
  • 6.­92
  • 6.­98
  • ap1.­1
  • n.­147
  • n.­185-186
  • n.­202
  • n.­205
  • n.­247
  • n.­352
  • n.­357
  • n.­380
  • n.­393
  • n.­403
  • n.­421
  • n.­527
  • n.­635
  • n.­640
  • n.­785
  • n.­889
  • n.­924
  • n.­948
  • n.­967
  • n.­989-990
  • n.­1095
  • n.­1258
  • n.­1316
  • n.­1432
  • n.­1457
  • n.­1519
  • n.­1524
  • n.­1526
  • n.­1591
  • n.­1642
  • n.­1647
  • n.­1707
  • n.­1711
  • n.­1753
  • n.­1759
  • n.­1770
  • n.­1843
  • n.­1865
  • n.­1896
  • n.­1912
  • n.­1914
  • n.­1933
  • g.­272
  • g.­280
g.­334

Tanū level

Wylie:
  • bsrabs pa’i sa
Tibetan:
  • བསྲབས་པའི་ས།
Sanskrit:
  • tanūbhūmi

Lit. “Refinement level.” The fifth of the ten levels traversed by all practitioners, from the level of an ordinary person until reaching buddhahood. It is equivalent to the level of a once-returner. See “ten levels.”

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­208
  • 4.­1137
  • 5.­959
  • 5.­1022
  • n.­216
  • g.­340
g.­335

tathāgata

Wylie:
  • de bzhin gshegs pa
Tibetan:
  • དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • tathāgata

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A frequently used synonym for buddha. According to different explanations, it can be read as tathā-gata, literally meaning “one who has thus gone,” or as tathā-āgata, “one who has thus come.” Gata, though literally meaning “gone,” is a past passive participle used to describe a state or condition of existence. Tatha­(tā), often rendered as “suchness” or “thusness,” is the quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms. Therefore, this epithet is interpreted in different ways, but in general it implies one who has departed in the wake of the buddhas of the past, or one who has manifested the supreme awakening dependent on the reality that does not abide in the two extremes of existence and quiescence. It is also often used as a specific epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

Located in 245 passages in the translation:

  • i.­37
  • i.­40
  • i.­55
  • i.­95
  • i.­97
  • i.­114
  • 1.­6-8
  • 1.­12
  • 1.­14
  • 1.­20
  • 1.­77
  • 1.­82
  • 1.­96-97
  • 1.­103-104
  • 1.­106
  • 1.­109
  • 1.­123-125
  • 1.­127
  • 1.­131
  • 1.­133
  • 1.­135
  • 1.­141
  • 1.­146
  • 1.­149
  • 1.­151-152
  • 1.­154
  • 1.­156
  • 1.­159-160
  • 1.­173
  • 1.­176-177
  • 1.­181
  • 1.­191
  • 1.­194
  • 1.­197-199
  • 1.­203
  • 1.­206
  • 1.­208
  • 1.­210-211
  • 1.­222-223
  • 3.­4
  • 4.­10
  • 4.­71
  • 4.­88
  • 4.­97-98
  • 4.­139
  • 4.­174
  • 4.­177
  • 4.­223
  • 4.­332
  • 4.­377
  • 4.­402
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­518
  • 4.­693
  • 4.­699
  • 4.­701
  • 4.­802
  • 4.­814
  • 4.­907
  • 4.­972
  • 4.­975
  • 4.­989
  • 4.­994
  • 4.­1004
  • 4.­1012-1014
  • 4.­1017-1021
  • 4.­1023-1025
  • 4.­1033
  • 4.­1230
  • 4.­1317
  • 4.­1322
  • 5.­1
  • 5.­3
  • 5.­5
  • 5.­49
  • 5.­64
  • 5.­69
  • 5.­72
  • 5.­90
  • 5.­110-114
  • 5.­116
  • 5.­127
  • 5.­130-131
  • 5.­144
  • 5.­160
  • 5.­165
  • 5.­167-168
  • 5.­175
  • 5.­177
  • 5.­231
  • 5.­279
  • 5.­295
  • 5.­370
  • 5.­437
  • 5.­441
  • 5.­463
  • 5.­465
  • 5.­467
  • 5.­470
  • 5.­473
  • 5.­476-477
  • 5.­484
  • 5.­489
  • 5.­497
  • 5.­508-511
  • 5.­514
  • 5.­516
  • 5.­518
  • 5.­583-585
  • 5.­589-592
  • 5.­594-596
  • 5.­598-599
  • 5.­603
  • 5.­607
  • 5.­635
  • 5.­677
  • 5.­756-760
  • 5.­766
  • 5.­825
  • 5.­848
  • 5.­857
  • 5.­881
  • 5.­891
  • 5.­894
  • 5.­902
  • 5.­913
  • 5.­915-916
  • 5.­919
  • 5.­947
  • 5.­1059
  • 5.­1062
  • 5.­1066-1067
  • 5.­1070
  • 5.­1132-1134
  • 5.­1141
  • 5.­1145
  • 5.­1159-1160
  • 5.­1170
  • 5.­1178-1179
  • 5.­1236
  • 5.­1270
  • 5.­1272
  • 5.­1282
  • 5.­1293
  • 5.­1311
  • 5.­1353
  • 5.­1382
  • 5.­1408
  • 5.­1435
  • 5.­1469
  • 5.­1472
  • 5.­1483
  • 5.­1486
  • 6.­48
  • 6.­92
  • 6.­98-99
  • n.­45
  • n.­50
  • n.­249-250
  • n.­295
  • n.­338
  • n.­358
  • n.­434
  • n.­869
  • n.­876
  • n.­1079
  • n.­1136
  • n.­1335
  • n.­1377
  • n.­1398
  • n.­1402
  • n.­1405
  • n.­1409
  • n.­1455
  • n.­1524
  • n.­1546
  • n.­1562
  • n.­1689-1690
  • n.­1720-1721
  • n.­1755
  • n.­1777
  • n.­1875
  • n.­1912
  • n.­1915
  • n.­1929
  • g.­239
  • g.­248
  • g.­254
  • g.­336
  • g.­342
  • g.­356
g.­336

tathāgata­garbha

Wylie:
  • de bzhin gshegs pa’i snying po
Tibetan:
  • དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • tathāgata­garbha

The term tathāgata­garbha means “matrix of the tathāgata,” “pregnant with a Realized One,” “womb or seed of a Realized One,” “containing a buddha,” “having buddha nature,” and so on. It is commonly known as buddha-nature, the potential for buddhahood, present in every sentient being.

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­4
  • 4.­88-89
  • 4.­100
  • 4.­126
  • 4.­162
  • 4.­1121
  • 5.­187
  • n.­249
  • n.­302
  • g.­194
g.­337

tathatā

Wylie:
  • de bzhin nyid
Tibetan:
  • དེ་བཞིན་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • tathatā

See “suchness.”

Located in 13 passages in the translation:

  • i.­95
  • 3.­4
  • 4.­88
  • 4.­433
  • 5.­112
  • n.­472
  • n.­876
  • n.­1136
  • n.­1335
  • n.­1399
  • n.­1509
  • n.­1720
  • g.­321
g.­338

tattva

Wylie:
  • de kho na nyid
Tibetan:
  • དེ་ཁོ་ན་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • tattva

Also rended here as “true reality.”

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • n.­537
  • n.­1917
g.­339

ten bodhisattva levels

Wylie:
  • byang chub sems dpa’i sa bcu
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའི་ས་བཅུ།
Sanskrit:
  • daśa­bodhi­sattva­bhūmi

In this text, two sets of ten levels are mentioned. One set pertains to the progress of an individual practitioner who, starting from the level of an ordinary person, sequentially follows the path of a śrāvaka, a pratyekabuddha, and then a bodhisattva on their way to complete buddhahood (see “ten levels” for a detailed explanation of this set).

The other set is more common in Mahāyāna literature, although there are variations, and refers to the ten levels traversed by an individual practitioner who has already become a bodhisattva: (1) Pramuditā (Joyful), in which one rejoices at realizing a partial aspect of the truth; (2) Vimalā (Stainless), in which one is free from all defilement; (3) Prabhākarī (Light Maker), in which one radiates the light of wisdom; (4) Arciṣmatī (Radiant), in which the radiant flame of wisdom burns away earthly desires; (5) Sudurjayā (Invincible), in which one surmounts the illusions of darkness, or ignorance, as the Middle Way; (6) Abhimukhī (Directly Witnessed), in which supreme wisdom begins to manifest; (7) Dūraṃgamā (Far Reaching), in which one rises above the states of the lower vehicles of srāvakas and pratyekabuddhas; (8) Acalā (Immovable), in which one dwells firmly in the truth of the Middle Way and cannot be perturbed by anything; (9) Sādhumatī (Auspicious Intellect), in which one preaches the Dharma unimpededly; and (10) Dharmameghā (Cloud of Dharma), in which one benefits all sentient beings with Dharma, just as a cloud rains impartially upon everything.

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • i.­85
  • 4.­1092
  • 4.­1186
  • 5.­874
  • n.­1205
  • n.­1556
  • n.­1696
  • g.­2
  • g.­24
  • g.­67
  • g.­249
  • g.­271
  • g.­340
  • g.­384
g.­340

ten levels

Wylie:
  • sa bcu
Tibetan:
  • ས་བཅུ།
Sanskrit:
  • daśabhūmi

In this text, two sets of ten levels are mentioned. One set refers to the standard list of ten levels most commonly found in the general Mahāyāna literature; for a detailed explanation of this set, see ten bodhisattva levels. The other set, common to Prajñāpāramitā literature, charts the progress of an individual practitioner who, starting from the level of an ordinary person, sequentially follows the path of a śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, and then a bodhisattva on their way to complete buddhahood.

The first three levels pertain to an ordinary person preparing themselves for the path; the next four (4-7) chart the path of a śrāvaka; level eight aligns with the practices of a pratyekabuddha; level nine refers to the path of bodhisattvas; and finally, level ten is the attainment of buddhahood. These ten levels comprise (1) the level of Śuklavipaśyanā, (2) the level of Gotra, (3) the level of Aṣṭamaka, (4) the level of Darśana, (5) the level of Tanū, (6) the level of Vītarāga, (7) the level of Kṛtāvin, (8) the Pratyekabuddha level, (9) the Bodhisattva level, and (10) the Buddha level of perfect awakening.

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­74
  • 4.­1092
  • 4.­1186
  • 5.­90
  • 5.­658
  • n.­219
  • g.­17
  • g.­24
  • g.­28
  • g.­53
  • g.­161
  • g.­191
  • g.­251
  • g.­326
  • g.­334
  • g.­339
  • g.­386
g.­341

ten perfections

Wylie:
  • pha rol tu phyin pa bcu
Tibetan:
  • ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་བཅུ།
Sanskrit:
  • daśapāramitā

This comprises the most common six perfections to which are added the four perfections of skillful means, prayer, power, and knowledge.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • g.­190
  • g.­248
  • g.­252
g.­342

ten powers

Wylie:
  • stobs bcu
Tibetan:
  • སྟོབས་བཅུ།
Sanskrit:
  • daśabala

A category of the distinctive qualities of a tathāgata. They are knowing what is possible and what is impossible; knowing the results of actions or the ripening of karma; knowing the various inclinations of sentient beings; knowing the various elements; knowing the supreme and lesser faculties of sentient beings; knowing the paths that lead to all destinations of rebirth; knowing the concentrations, liberations, absorptions, equilibriums, afflictions, purifications, and abidings; knowing previous lives; knowing the death and rebirth of sentient beings; and knowing the cessation of the defilements. See also “five powers.”

Located in 21 passages in the translation:

  • i.­84
  • 1.­4
  • 1.­91
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­517
  • 4.­787
  • 4.­1209
  • 5.­418
  • 5.­463
  • 5.­606
  • n.­147
  • n.­158
  • n.­356
  • n.­434
  • n.­740
  • n.­1241
  • n.­1311
  • g.­29
  • g.­120
  • g.­248
  • g.­343
g.­343

ten tathāgata powers

Wylie:
  • de bzhin gshegs pa’i stobs bcu
Tibetan:
  • དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྟོབས་བཅུ།
Sanskrit:
  • daśa­tathāgata­bala

See “ten powers.”

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­64
  • 4.­947
g.­344

ten unwholesome actions

Wylie:
  • mi dge ba’i las kyi lam bcu
  • mi dge ba bcu’i las kyi lam
Tibetan:
  • མི་དགེ་བའི་ལས་ཀྱི་ལམ་བཅུ།
  • མི་དགེ་བ་བཅུའི་ལས་ཀྱི་ལམ།
Sanskrit:
  • daśākuśala­karma­patha

There are three physical unwholesome or nonvirtuous actions: killing, stealing, and illicit sex. There are four verbal nonvirtues: lying, backbiting, insulting, and babbling nonsense. And three mental nonvirtues: coveting, malice, and wrong view‍.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­187
  • 4.­477
  • 5.­634
  • n.­128
  • g.­345
  • g.­395
g.­345

ten wholesome actions

Wylie:
  • dge ba bcu’i las
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་བ་བཅུའི་ལས།
Sanskrit:
  • daśa­kuśala­karman

These are the opposite of the ten unwholesome actions. There are three physical virtues: saving lives, giving, and sexual propriety. There are four verbal virtues: truthfulness, reconciling discussions, gentle speech, and religious speech. There are three mental virtues: a loving attitude, a generous attitude, and right views.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­254
  • 4.­374
  • 4.­477
  • 5.­142
  • 5.­178
  • 5.­235
  • 5.­634
g.­346

thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening

Wylie:
  • byang chub kyi phyogs kyi chos sum cu rtsa bdun
  • byang chub kyi phyogs kyi chos rnams
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་ཕྱོགས་ཀྱི་ཆོས་སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་བདུན།
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་ཕྱོགས་ཀྱི་ཆོས་རྣམས།
Sanskrit:
  • sapta­triṃśad­bodhi­pakṣa­dharma

The thirty-seven dharmas on the side of awakening describe the oldest common path of Buddhism, the path of the śrāvakas: the four applications of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four legs of miraculous power, the five faculties, the five powers, the eightfold noble path, and the seven limbs of awakening.

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • i.­53
  • 1.­69
  • 4.­27
  • 4.­1209
  • 5.­1002
  • n.­790
  • n.­796
  • n.­798
  • n.­1311
  • n.­1607
  • g.­68
  • g.­103
  • g.­107
  • g.­120
g.­347

thoroughly established

Wylie:
  • yongs su grub pa
Tibetan:
  • ཡོངས་སུ་གྲུབ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • pariniṣpanna

One of the three natures. Also rendered as “final outcome.”

Located in 118 passages in the translation:

  • i.­61
  • i.­76
  • i.­78
  • i.­89
  • i.­103
  • i.­114
  • i.­118
  • 1.­60
  • 1.­62
  • 1.­68
  • 3.­9
  • 4.­37
  • 4.­98
  • 4.­110
  • 4.­112
  • 4.­126
  • 4.­159
  • 4.­162
  • 4.­196-197
  • 4.­199
  • 4.­205-206
  • 4.­213
  • 4.­409
  • 4.­465
  • 4.­467
  • 4.­487
  • 4.­511-521
  • 4.­531
  • 4.­534
  • 4.­545
  • 4.­547
  • 4.­551
  • 4.­569
  • 4.­608
  • 4.­619
  • 4.­628
  • 4.­642
  • 4.­719
  • 4.­737
  • 4.­741
  • 4.­778
  • 4.­784
  • 4.­813
  • 4.­888-892
  • 4.­1147
  • 4.­1154-1156
  • 4.­1163
  • 4.­1175
  • 4.­1177-1178
  • 4.­1243
  • 4.­1250
  • 4.­1253
  • 4.­1268
  • 4.­1276
  • 4.­1284-1285
  • 4.­1292
  • 4.­1325
  • 4.­1357
  • 5.­60
  • 5.­93
  • 5.­155
  • 5.­172
  • 5.­260
  • 5.­271
  • 5.­283
  • 5.­288-289
  • 5.­314
  • 5.­365
  • 5.­369
  • 5.­453
  • 5.­493
  • 5.­498
  • 5.­518
  • 5.­545
  • 5.­586
  • 5.­603
  • 5.­607
  • 5.­934
  • 5.­970
  • 5.­972
  • 5.­1029
  • 5.­1048
  • 5.­1096
  • 5.­1200
  • 5.­1204
  • 5.­1355
  • 5.­1368
  • 5.­1454
  • 6.­40-41
  • 6.­63
  • n.­93
  • n.­95
  • n.­304
  • n.­562
  • n.­1646
  • g.­352
g.­348

thought of awakening

Wylie:
  • byang chub kyi sems
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སེམས།
Sanskrit:
  • bodhicitta

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In the general Mahāyāna teachings the mind of awakening (bodhicitta) is the intention to attain the complete awakening of a perfect buddha for the sake of all beings. On the level of absolute truth, the mind of awakening is the realization of the awakened state itself.

Located in 23 passages in the translation:

  • i.­27
  • i.­64
  • i.­108
  • 1.­133
  • 1.­183
  • 4.­92
  • 4.­101
  • 4.­486
  • 4.­735-736
  • 4.­1022
  • 5.­12
  • 5.­37
  • 5.­41
  • 5.­43-44
  • 5.­207-208
  • 5.­791
  • 5.­1143
  • n.­162
  • n.­968
  • n.­1213
g.­349

three aggregates

Wylie:
  • phung po gsum
Tibetan:
  • ཕུང་པོ་གསུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • triskandha

In this text, they are described as morality, meditative stabilization, and wisdom.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­885
g.­351

Three Jewels

Wylie:
  • dkon mchog gsum
Tibetan:
  • དཀོན་མཆོག་གསུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • triratna

The Three Jewels are the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­335
  • 4.­1022
  • 5.­918
  • n.­1891
g.­352

three natures

Wylie:
  • rang bzhin gsum
Tibetan:
  • རང་བཞིན་གསུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • trisvabhāva

The three natures provide a full description of a phenomenon, namely: the imaginary (Skt. parikalpita, Tib. kun brtags), the dependent or other-powered (Skt. paratantra, Tib. gzhan dbang), and the thoroughly established or final outcome (Skt. pariniṣpanna, Tib. yongs su grub pa); alternatively, they are imaginary, conceptualized (Skt. vikalpita, Tib. rnam par brtags pa), and true dharmic nature (Skt. dharmatā, Tib. chos nyid). This terminology is characteristic of Yogācāra discourse.

Located in 13 passages in the translation:

  • i.­44
  • i.­61
  • i.­65
  • i.­118
  • 6.­42
  • 6.­57
  • n.­80
  • n.­1960
  • g.­40
  • g.­56
  • g.­173
  • g.­235
  • g.­347
g.­353

three realms

Wylie:
  • khams gsum
Tibetan:
  • ཁམས་གསུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • tridhātu

The desire realm, form realm, and formless realm.

Located in 30 passages in the translation:

  • i.­86
  • 1.­20
  • 1.­58
  • 1.­93
  • 1.­214
  • 1.­216
  • 3.­9
  • 4.­12
  • 4.­25
  • 4.­39
  • 4.­44
  • 4.­472
  • 4.­768
  • 4.­796
  • 4.­890
  • 4.­983
  • 4.­1140-1141
  • 4.­1149
  • 4.­1183
  • 5.­35
  • 5.­232
  • 5.­369
  • 5.­1145
  • 5.­1253
  • 5.­1458
  • 6.­94
  • n.­223
  • n.­277
  • n.­1241
g.­354

three spheres

Wylie:
  • ’khor gsum
Tibetan:
  • འཁོར་གསུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • trimaṇḍala

These three aspects, literally “circles” or “provinces,” are the doer, the action, and the object of the action.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­11
  • 4.­14
  • 4.­20-21
  • 4.­25
  • 4.­95
  • 4.­390
  • 4.­1120
g.­355

three sufferings

Wylie:
  • sdug bsngal gsum
Tibetan:
  • སྡུག་བསྔལ་གསུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • triduḥkha

These are (1) actual suffering, (2) apparently pleasurable states that end up in a suffering state, and (3) in general, states activated and sustained by the force of earlier actions motivated by self-centeredness.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­1269
  • 5.­16
g.­357

three vehicles

Wylie:
  • theg pa gsum
Tibetan:
  • ཐེག་པ་གསུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • triyāna

The three vehicles (yāna) are the Śrāvaka, Pratyekabuddha, and Great (mahā) Vehicles.

Located in 21 passages in the translation:

  • i.­52
  • i.­64
  • i.­110
  • 1.­37
  • 1.­98
  • 2.­12
  • 4.­68-69
  • 4.­179
  • 4.­364
  • 4.­474
  • 4.­500
  • 4.­716
  • 4.­1033
  • 4.­1185
  • 4.­1333
  • 5.­90
  • 5.­129
  • 5.­171
  • 5.­755
  • 5.­1129
g.­358

tīrthika

Wylie:
  • mu stegs can
Tibetan:
  • མུ་སྟེགས་ཅན།
Sanskrit:
  • tīrthika

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Those of other religious or philosophical orders, contemporary with the early Buddhist order, including Jains, Jaṭilas, Ājīvikas, and Cārvākas. Tīrthika (“forder”) literally translates as “one belonging to or associated with (possessive suffix –ika) stairs for landing or for descent into a river,” or “a bathing place,” or “a place of pilgrimage on the banks of sacred streams” (Monier-Williams). The term may have originally referred to temple priests at river crossings or fords where travelers propitiated a deity before crossing. The Sanskrit term seems to have undergone metonymic transfer in referring to those able to ford the turbulent river of saṃsāra (as in the Jain tīrthaṅkaras, “ford makers”), and it came to be used in Buddhist sources to refer to teachers of rival religious traditions. The Sanskrit term is closely rendered by the Tibetan mu stegs pa: “those on the steps (stegs pa) at the edge (mu).”

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­80
  • 1.­88
  • 1.­174
  • 1.­191
  • 4.­107
  • 4.­113
  • 4.­430
  • 4.­1185
  • 5.­480
  • 5.­1286
  • n.­190
g.­359

transcendental knowledge

Wylie:
  • ye shes
Tibetan:
  • ཡེ་ཤེས།
Sanskrit:
  • jñāna

This term denotes the mode of awareness of a realized being. Although all sentient beings possess the potential for actualizing transcendental knowledge within their mind streams, mental obscurations make them appear instead as aspects of mundane consciousness.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­10
  • 4.­574
  • 5.­92
  • 5.­169
  • 5.­233
  • 5.­425
  • 5.­517-518
  • n.­1120
  • n.­1404
g.­360

Trāyastriṃśa

Wylie:
  • sum cu rtsa gsum
  • sum cu rtsa gsum pa
Tibetan:
  • སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གསུམ།
  • སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གསུམ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • trāyastriṃśa
  • trayastriṃśa

Lit. “Thirty-Three.” It is the second of the six heavens in the desire realm; also the name of the gods living there. The paradise of Śatakratu on the summit of Sumeru where there are thirty-three leading deities, hence the name.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­1009
  • g.­375
g.­361

Triśatikā

Wylie:
  • sum brgya pa
Tibetan:
  • སུམ་བརྒྱ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • triśatikā

This is a name for the Diamond Sūtra (Vajracchedikā, toh 16).

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­20
  • 4.­11
  • n.­250
g.­363

true dharmic nature

Wylie:
  • chos nyid
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • dharmatā

See “true nature of dharmas.”

Located in 95 passages in the translation:

  • i.­61
  • i.­78
  • 4.­42
  • 4.­110-112
  • 4.­257
  • 4.­276
  • 4.­280
  • 4.­285-286
  • 4.­296
  • 4.­306
  • 4.­308
  • 4.­319
  • 4.­482
  • 4.­533-534
  • 4.­542
  • 4.­545-550
  • 4.­569
  • 4.­608
  • 4.­672
  • 4.­685
  • 4.­692
  • 4.­697
  • 4.­702
  • 4.­734
  • 4.­741
  • 4.­893
  • 4.­1253
  • 4.­1279
  • 4.­1283-1284
  • 4.­1286
  • 4.­1288
  • 4.­1291
  • 4.­1305
  • 4.­1310
  • 4.­1343
  • 5.­45-46
  • 5.­60
  • 5.­73
  • 5.­112
  • 5.­115-116
  • 5.­155
  • 5.­283
  • 5.­285
  • 5.­289
  • 5.­291
  • 5.­310
  • 5.­355
  • 5.­467-468
  • 5.­524
  • 5.­575
  • 5.­582
  • 5.­599
  • 5.­761-762
  • 5.­881
  • 5.­920
  • 5.­935
  • 5.­1060
  • 5.­1084
  • 5.­1094
  • 5.­1136
  • 5.­1354
  • 5.­1360-1361
  • 5.­1474
  • 6.­38
  • 6.­42
  • 6.­44-45
  • 6.­48
  • 6.­56
  • 6.­58
  • 6.­63-64
  • n.­314
  • n.­403
  • n.­538
  • n.­561
  • n.­1945
  • n.­1966
  • n.­1975
  • g.­352
g.­364

true nature of dharmas

Wylie:
  • chos nyid
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • dharmatā

“True nature of dharmas” renders dharmatā (chos nyid). In dharmatā the -tā ending is the English “-ness.” The dharma is an attribute of a dharmin (an “attribute possessor”). The attribute is the ultimate, emptiness. The attribute possessors are all phenomena. So, it means “the true nature [= -ness] of the attribute [emptiness].” The issue is further complicated by the widespread use of the word dharma as phenomenon (as in “all dharmas”) and so on. In such contexts it is not a word for the ultimate attribute, but for any phenomenon.

Also rendered here as “true dharmic nature” and simply as dharmatā.

Located in 73 passages in the translation:

  • i.­95
  • 1.­124
  • 4.­31
  • 4.­497
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­516
  • 4.­518
  • 4.­525
  • 4.­532
  • 4.­534
  • 4.­537
  • 4.­539
  • 4.­549
  • 4.­556
  • 4.­606
  • 4.­608
  • 4.­702
  • 4.­741
  • 4.­766
  • 4.­802
  • 4.­814
  • 4.­1011
  • 4.­1027
  • 4.­1183
  • 4.­1217
  • 4.­1244
  • 4.­1258
  • 4.­1284
  • 4.­1286
  • 4.­1293
  • 4.­1309
  • 5.­61-66
  • 5.­95
  • 5.­112-114
  • 5.­158
  • 5.­168
  • 5.­183
  • 5.­188
  • 5.­195
  • 5.­263
  • 5.­271
  • 5.­286
  • 5.­309
  • 5.­314
  • 5.­346
  • 5.­361
  • 5.­467
  • 5.­604-605
  • 5.­607
  • 5.­921
  • 5.­948
  • 5.­1135
  • 5.­1435-1436
  • 5.­1474
  • 6.­63-64
  • n.­542
  • n.­1032
  • n.­1036
  • n.­1098
  • n.­1689
  • g.­69
  • g.­104
  • g.­363
g.­365

true reality

Wylie:
  • de bzhin nyid
  • de kho na
  • yang dag pa
  • de nyid
Tibetan:
  • དེ་བཞིན་ཉིད།
  • དེ་ཁོ་ན།
  • ཡང་དག་པ།
  • དེ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • tathatā

See “suchness.”

Located in 36 passages in the translation:

  • i.­76
  • i.­106
  • i.­108
  • i.­110
  • i.­118
  • 4.­430
  • 4.­512
  • 4.­520
  • 4.­557-558
  • 4.­882
  • 4.­889-890
  • 4.­954
  • 4.­1170
  • 5.­2
  • 5.­56
  • 5.­183
  • 5.­192
  • 5.­479
  • 5.­578
  • 5.­611
  • 5.­1053
  • 5.­1058
  • 5.­1198-1199
  • 5.­1202
  • 6.­33
  • n.­537
  • n.­799
  • n.­1064
  • n.­1729
  • n.­1731
  • n.­1917
  • g.­321
  • g.­338
g.­366

Tuṣita

Wylie:
  • dga’ ldan
Tibetan:
  • དགའ་ལྡན།
Sanskrit:
  • tuṣita

Lit. “The Contented.” The fourth of the six heavens of the desire realm; also the name of the gods living there. It is the paradise in which the Buddha Śākyamuni lived as the tenth level bodhisattva Śvetaketu (dam pa tog dkar po) and regent, prior to his birth in this world, and where all future buddhas dwell prior to their awakening. At present the regent of Tuṣita is the bodhisattva Maitreya, the future buddha.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • i.­67
  • 4.­323
  • 4.­342
  • 5.­532
  • n.­140
  • n.­426
g.­368

twelve links of dependent origination

Wylie:
  • rten cing ’brel bar ’byung ba yan lag bcu gnyis pa
Tibetan:
  • རྟེན་ཅིང་འབྲེལ་བར་འབྱུང་བ་ཡན་ལག་བཅུ་གཉིས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • dvādaśāṅga­pratītya­samutpāda

The twelve causal links that perpetuate life in saṃsāra, starting with ignorance and ending with death.

Located in 19 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­454
  • 4.­471-472
  • 4.­476
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­1183
  • 4.­1217
  • n.­49
  • n.­51
  • n.­392
  • n.­982
  • n.­1067
  • n.­1318
  • n.­1887
  • g.­44
  • g.­105
  • g.­218
  • g.­301
  • g.­387
g.­369

twelve sense fields

Wylie:
  • skye mched bcu gnyis
Tibetan:
  • སྐྱེ་མཆེད་བཅུ་གཉིས།
Sanskrit:
  • dvādaśāyatana

These comprise the inner six sense fields and the outer six sense fields.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­454
  • g.­288
g.­370

Ulūka

Wylie:
  • ’ug pa pa
Tibetan:
  • འུག་པ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • ulūka

This is a name for the Vaiśeṣikas, the “Particularists,” a non-Buddhist philosophical school.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­70
  • 4.­452
g.­371

unsurpassed, perfect, complete awakening

Wylie:
  • bla na med pa yang dag par rdzogs pa’i byang chub
Tibetan:
  • བླ་ན་མེད་པ་ཡང་དག་པར་རྫོགས་པའི་བྱང་ཆུབ།
Sanskrit:
  • anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi

The complete awakening of a buddha, as opposed to the attainments of arhats and pratyekabuddhas.

Located in 78 passages in the translation:

  • i.­111
  • i.­120
  • 1.­8
  • 1.­158
  • 1.­191
  • 1.­223-224
  • 1.­226
  • 1.­228
  • 4.­172
  • 4.­242
  • 4.­327
  • 4.­487
  • 4.­496
  • 4.­595
  • 4.­607
  • 4.­748
  • 4.­971
  • 5.­8-9
  • 5.­41
  • 5.­65
  • 5.­204
  • 5.­213-214
  • 5.­226
  • 5.­252
  • 5.­376
  • 5.­512
  • 5.­542
  • 5.­609
  • 5.­615
  • 5.­621
  • 5.­624-625
  • 5.­627
  • 5.­655
  • 5.­657-658
  • 5.­666
  • 5.­668
  • 5.­673
  • 5.­786
  • 5.­828
  • 5.­871
  • 5.­899
  • 5.­901
  • 5.­903
  • 5.­912
  • 5.­949-951
  • 5.­953-954
  • 5.­1016
  • 5.­1041-1042
  • 5.­1045
  • 5.­1070
  • 5.­1086
  • 5.­1132
  • 5.­1242
  • 5.­1405
  • 5.­1423
  • 6.­92
  • 6.­100
  • 6.­102
  • n.­1415
  • n.­1472
  • n.­1492
  • n.­1539
  • n.­1561
  • n.­1607
  • n.­1629
  • n.­1631
  • n.­1764
  • n.­1773
  • n.­1856
g.­374

Vaidika

Wylie:
  • rig byed smra ba
Tibetan:
  • རིག་བྱེད་སྨྲ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • vaidika

The preachers of the Vedas.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­70
  • 4.­449
g.­376

Vajrapāṇi

Wylie:
  • lag na rdo rje
Tibetan:
  • ལག་ན་རྡོ་རྗེ།
Sanskrit:
  • vajrapāṇi

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Vajrapāṇi means “Wielder of the Vajra.” In the Pali canon, he appears as a yakṣa guardian in the retinue of the Buddha. In the Mahāyāna scriptures he is a bodhisattva and one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha.” In the tantras, he is also regarded as an important Buddhist deity and instrumental in the transmission of tantric scriptures.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­3
  • n.­1505
g.­377

vajropama

Wylie:
  • rdo rje lta bu
Tibetan:
  • རྡོ་རྗེ་ལྟ་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • vajropama

Lit. “diamond-like.” Name of a meditative stabilization.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­126-127
  • 4.­171
  • 4.­379
  • 5.­1223
g.­378

Vaśavartin

Wylie:
  • dbang sgyur
Tibetan:
  • དབང་སྒྱུར།
Sanskrit:
  • vaśavartin

Head god of the Para­nirmita­vaśa­vartin heaven.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­968
g.­379

Vasubandhu

Wylie:
  • dbyig gnyen
Tibetan:
  • དབྱིག་གཉེན།
Sanskrit:
  • vasubandhu

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A great fourth-century scholar and author, half-brother and pupil of Asaṅga and an important author of the Yogācāra tradition.

Located in 38 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­2
  • i.­9
  • i.­14-16
  • i.­19
  • i.­21-27
  • i.­30-31
  • i.­34-36
  • i.­39-44
  • n.­25
  • n.­27
  • n.­91
  • n.­250
  • n.­288
  • n.­352
  • n.­428
  • n.­819
  • n.­889
  • n.­966
  • n.­1353-1355
g.­381

venerable

Wylie:
  • tshe dang ldan pa
Tibetan:
  • ཚེ་དང་ལྡན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • āyuṣmat

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A respectful form of address between monks, and also between lay companions of equal standing. It literally means “one who has a [long] life.”

Located in 108 passages in the translation:

  • i.­58
  • i.­93
  • 1.­197
  • 1.­202-203
  • 2.­17
  • 4.­3
  • 4.­186
  • 4.­234
  • 4.­248
  • 4.­251
  • 4.­403
  • 4.­489-491
  • 4.­493-495
  • 4.­593-595
  • 4.­603
  • 4.­605-608
  • 4.­612
  • 4.­614
  • 4.­632
  • 4.­634
  • 4.­660
  • 4.­735-736
  • 4.­739
  • 4.­744-745
  • 4.­758
  • 4.­760-762
  • 4.­769-771
  • 4.­784
  • 4.­1233
  • 4.­1248
  • 4.­1251-1253
  • 4.­1262
  • 4.­1266
  • 4.­1268
  • 4.­1294
  • 4.­1301
  • 4.­1303-1304
  • 4.­1306-1307
  • 4.­1312
  • 4.­1314
  • 4.­1316-1317
  • 4.­1320-1321
  • 4.­1323-1328
  • 4.­1331
  • 4.­1333-1335
  • 4.­1337-1340
  • 4.­1342-1343
  • 4.­1361
  • 5.­78
  • 5.­90-91
  • 5.­105
  • 5.­108
  • 5.­111
  • 5.­205
  • 5.­210-211
  • 5.­213
  • 5.­219
  • 5.­252
  • 5.­625-626
  • 5.­980-981
  • 5.­985-986
  • 5.­989-993
  • n.­217
  • n.­683
  • n.­1013
  • n.­1970
g.­382

very limit of reality

Wylie:
  • yang dag pa’i mtha’
Tibetan:
  • ཡང་དག་པའི་མཐའ།
Sanskrit:
  • bhūtakoṭi

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

This term has three meanings: (1) the ultimate nature, (2) the experience of the ultimate nature, and (3) the quiescent state of a worthy one (arhat) to be avoided by bodhisattvas.

Located in 49 passages in the translation:

  • i.­117
  • 4.­52-53
  • 4.­162
  • 4.­398
  • 4.­436
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­520
  • 4.­529
  • 4.­534
  • 4.­567
  • 4.­571
  • 4.­580
  • 4.­593
  • 4.­1031
  • 4.­1183
  • 4.­1200-1201
  • 4.­1217
  • 5.­197
  • 5.­291
  • 5.­485
  • 5.­608
  • 5.­611
  • 5.­615
  • 5.­730
  • 5.­850
  • 5.­868
  • 5.­1006
  • 5.­1015
  • 5.­1062
  • 5.­1097
  • 5.­1148
  • 5.­1362
  • 5.­1364
  • 5.­1394-1397
  • 6.­52
  • 6.­92
  • n.­407
  • n.­556
  • n.­980
  • n.­1492
  • n.­1521
  • n.­1526
  • n.­1550-1551
g.­384

Vimalā

Wylie:
  • dri ma med pa
Tibetan:
  • དྲི་མ་མེད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • vimalā

Lit. “Stainless.” The second level of accomplishment pertaining to bodhisattvas. See “ten bodhisattva levels.”

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­81
  • 4.­985
  • n.­106
  • g.­339
g.­386

Vītarāga level

Wylie:
  • ’dod chags dang bral ba’i sa
Tibetan:
  • འདོད་ཆགས་དང་བྲལ་བའི་ས།
Sanskrit:
  • vītarāgabhūmi

Lit. “Desireless level.” The sixth of the ten levels traversed by all practitioners, from the level of an ordinary person until reaching buddhahood. It is equivalent to the level of non-returner. See “ten levels.”

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­208
  • 4.­1138
  • 5.­960
  • g.­340
g.­387

volitional factors

Wylie:
  • ’du byed
Tibetan:
  • འདུ་བྱེད།
Sanskrit:
  • saṃskāra

Fourth of the five aggregates and the second of the twelve links of dependent origination. These are the formative factors, mental volitions, and other supporting factors that perpetuate future saṃsāric existence.

Located in 32 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­22
  • 1.­26
  • 4.­21
  • 4.­186
  • 4.­204
  • 4.­278
  • 4.­281
  • 4.­284
  • 4.­448
  • 4.­541
  • 4.­580
  • 4.­624
  • 4.­678
  • 4.­691
  • 4.­693
  • 4.­702
  • 4.­1258
  • 4.­1293
  • 5.­42
  • 5.­298
  • 5.­302
  • 5.­306
  • 5.­392
  • 5.­1233
  • n.­53
  • n.­57
  • n.­842
  • n.­1113
  • n.­1387
  • n.­1579
  • n.­1957
  • g.­4
g.­388

wheel-turning emperor

Wylie:
  • ’khor los sgyur ba’i rgyal po
Tibetan:
  • འཁོར་ལོས་སྒྱུར་བའི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • cakravartin

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

An ideal monarch or emperor who, as the result of the merit accumulated in previous lifetimes, rules over a vast realm in accordance with the Dharma. Such a monarch is called a cakravartin because he bears a wheel (cakra) that rolls (vartate) across the earth, bringing all lands and kingdoms under his power. The cakravartin conquers his territory without causing harm, and his activity causes beings to enter the path of wholesome actions. According to Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośa, just as with the buddhas, only one cakravartin appears in a world system at any given time. They are likewise endowed with the thirty-two major marks of a great being (mahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa), but a cakravartin’s marks are outshined by those of a buddha. They possess seven precious objects: the wheel, the elephant, the horse, the wish-fulfilling gem, the queen, the general, and the minister. An illustrative passage about the cakravartin and his possessions can be found in The Play in Full (Toh 95), 3.3–3.13.

Vasubandhu lists four types of cakravartins: (1) the cakravartin with a golden wheel (suvarṇacakravartin) rules over four continents and is invited by lesser kings to be their ruler; (2) the cakravartin with a silver wheel (rūpyacakravartin) rules over three continents and his opponents submit to him as he approaches; (3) the cakravartin with a copper wheel (tāmracakravartin) rules over two continents and his opponents submit themselves after preparing for battle; and (4) the cakravartin with an iron wheel (ayaścakravartin) rules over one continent and his opponents submit themselves after brandishing weapons.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • i.­113
  • 1.­69
  • 4.­367-368
  • 4.­968
  • 5.­1078
  • 5.­1090
  • 5.­1280
  • 5.­1283
g.­389

wisdom

Wylie:
  • shes rab
Tibetan:
  • ཤེས་རབ།
Sanskrit:
  • prajñā

The sixth of the six perfections, it refers to the profound understanding of the emptiness of all phenomena, the realization of ultimate reality.

Located in 113 passages in the translation:

  • i.­63
  • i.­65
  • 1.­2
  • 1.­5
  • 1.­14
  • 1.­21
  • 1.­29-30
  • 1.­33
  • 1.­39
  • 1.­46-47
  • 1.­51-52
  • 1.­69
  • 1.­85
  • 1.­208
  • 3.­3
  • 3.­13
  • 3.­16
  • 4.­7
  • 4.­12
  • 4.­15
  • 4.­18-19
  • 4.­21-22
  • 4.­25
  • 4.­32
  • 4.­60
  • 4.­62
  • 4.­170-171
  • 4.­223
  • 4.­226-227
  • 4.­234-235
  • 4.­238
  • 4.­243-244
  • 4.­352
  • 4.­379
  • 4.­404
  • 4.­469
  • 4.­534
  • 4.­699
  • 4.­713
  • 4.­722
  • 4.­755
  • 4.­832-833
  • 4.­878
  • 4.­885
  • 4.­929
  • 4.­955
  • 4.­986
  • 4.­999
  • 4.­1022
  • 4.­1026
  • 4.­1090
  • 4.­1301
  • 5.­47
  • 5.­56
  • 5.­164
  • 5.­173
  • 5.­261
  • 5.­266
  • 5.­277
  • 5.­402
  • 5.­476
  • 5.­529
  • 5.­617
  • 5.­832
  • 5.­938
  • 5.­980
  • 5.­991
  • 5.­1035
  • 5.­1072-1074
  • 5.­1084
  • 5.­1088
  • 5.­1091
  • 5.­1103
  • 5.­1160-1161
  • 5.­1223
  • 5.­1273
  • 5.­1285
  • 5.­1389
  • 6.­25
  • 6.­30-31
  • n.­8
  • n.­62
  • n.­79
  • n.­386
  • n.­800
  • n.­1069
  • n.­1215
  • n.­1646
  • n.­1773
  • n.­1950-1951
  • g.­4
  • g.­115
  • g.­116
  • g.­120
  • g.­292
  • g.­299
  • g.­339
  • g.­349
g.­390

wishlessness

Wylie:
  • smon pa med pa
Tibetan:
  • སྨོན་པ་མེད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • apraṇihita

The ultimate absence of any wish, desire, or aspiration, even those directed towards buddhahood. One of the three gateways to liberation; the other two are emptiness and signlessness.

Located in 36 passages in the translation:

  • i.­108
  • 1.­58
  • 1.­121
  • 4.­8
  • 4.­39
  • 4.­52
  • 4.­79
  • 4.­248
  • 4.­294
  • 4.­307
  • 4.­415
  • 4.­427
  • 4.­462
  • 4.­627
  • 4.­830
  • 4.­887
  • 4.­890-891
  • 4.­893
  • 5.­35
  • 5.­381
  • 5.­432
  • 5.­491
  • 5.­575
  • 5.­615
  • 5.­976
  • 5.­978
  • 5.­1020-1021
  • n.­804
  • n.­1026
  • n.­1083
  • n.­1492
  • n.­1588
  • n.­1695
  • g.­154
g.­392

world system

Wylie:
  • ’jig rten gyi khams
Tibetan:
  • འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཁམས།
Sanskrit:
  • lokadhātu

This can refer to one world with its orbiting sun and moon, and also to groups of these worlds in multiples of thousands, in particular a world realm of a thousand million worlds, which is said to be circular, with its circumference twice as long as its diameter.

Located in 52 passages in the translation:

  • i.­97
  • 1.­4-5
  • 1.­12
  • 1.­41
  • 1.­73
  • 1.­91
  • 1.­109
  • 1.­122
  • 1.­124
  • 1.­129-130
  • 1.­133
  • 1.­142
  • 1.­146-147
  • 1.­157
  • 1.­179-180
  • 1.­191
  • 1.­193-194
  • 4.­172
  • 4.­175
  • 4.­336
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­1033
  • 5.­3
  • 5.­145-146
  • 5.­160
  • 5.­167-168
  • 5.­179
  • 5.­204
  • 5.­235
  • 5.­238
  • 5.­240
  • 5.­937
  • 5.­1134
  • 5.­1284
  • 5.­1450
  • 6.­78
  • n.­163
  • n.­182-183
  • n.­1567
  • n.­1723
  • n.­1814
  • g.­135
  • g.­260
  • g.­261
g.­393

worldly dharmas

Wylie:
  • ’jig rten gyi chos
Tibetan:
  • འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཆོས།
Sanskrit:
  • loka­dharma

See “eight worldly dharmas.”

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­31
  • 4.­833
  • 4.­1017
  • 5.­26
  • g.­77
g.­394

worthy one

Wylie:
  • dgra bcom pa
Tibetan:
  • དགྲ་བཅོམ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • arhat

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

According to Buddhist tradition, one who is worthy of worship (pūjām arhati), or one who has conquered the enemies, the mental afflictions (kleśa-ari-hata-vat), and reached liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. It is the fourth and highest of the four fruits attainable by śrāvakas. Also used as an epithet of the Buddha.

In this text:

For a definition given in this text, see 1.­20.

Located in 79 passages in the translation:

  • i.­40
  • i.­58
  • i.­65
  • 1.­19-22
  • 1.­28
  • 1.­30-31
  • 1.­36
  • 1.­39
  • 1.­96
  • 1.­123
  • 1.­127
  • 1.­203-205
  • 1.­208
  • 1.­218
  • 1.­222
  • 1.­228
  • 3.­11
  • 4.­29
  • 4.­70
  • 4.­171
  • 4.­179
  • 4.­534
  • 4.­693
  • 4.­969
  • 4.­1013
  • 4.­1017-1022
  • 4.­1029
  • 4.­1033
  • 4.­1135
  • 4.­1139
  • 4.­1211
  • 4.­1313
  • 5.­64
  • 5.­88
  • 5.­111
  • 5.­127
  • 5.­179
  • 5.­236
  • 5.­437
  • 5.­439
  • 5.­441
  • 5.­529
  • 5.­615
  • 5.­756
  • 5.­825
  • 5.­916
  • 5.­961
  • 5.­997
  • 5.­1141
  • 5.­1153-1154
  • 5.­1159
  • 5.­1199
  • 5.­1222
  • 5.­1236
  • 5.­1360
  • 6.­89
  • 6.­96
  • n.­213
  • n.­268
  • n.­806
  • n.­832
  • n.­1377
  • n.­1562
  • n.­1564
  • n.­1700
  • n.­1982
  • g.­191
g.­395

wrong view

Wylie:
  • log par lta ba
  • lta ba phyin ci log
Tibetan:
  • ལོག་པར་ལྟ་བ།
  • ལྟ་བ་ཕྱིན་ཅི་ལོག
Sanskrit:
  • mithyādṛṣṭi
  • dṛṣṭiviparyāsa

The tenth of the ten unwholesome actions; also one of five commonly listed kinds of erroneous views, it designates the disbelief in the doctrine of karma, cause and effect, and rebirth, etc.

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­36
  • 1.­167
  • 1.­191
  • 4.­482
  • 4.­716
  • 4.­965
  • 4.­983
  • 4.­985
  • 5.­484
  • n.­1386
  • g.­344
g.­397

Yaśodharā

Wylie:
  • grags ’dzin ma
Tibetan:
  • གྲགས་འཛིན་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • yaśodharā

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Daughter of Śākya Daṇḍadhara (more commonly Daṇḍapāṇi), sister of Iṣudhara and Aniruddha, she was the wife of Prince Siddhārtha and mother of his only child, Rāhula. After Prince Siddhārtha left his kingdom and attained awakening as the Buddha, she became his disciple and one of the first women to be ordained as a bhikṣunī. She attained the level of an arhat, a worthy one, endowed with the six superknowledges.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­64
  • 4.­179
g.­398

Yeshé Dé

Wylie:
  • ye shes sde
Tibetan:
  • ཡེ་ཤེས་སྡེ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Yeshé Dé (late eighth to early ninth century) was the most prolific translator of sūtras into Tibetan. Altogether he is credited with the translation of more than one hundred sixty sūtra translations and more than one hundred additional translations, mostly on tantric topics. In spite of Yeshé Dé’s great importance for the propagation of Buddhism in Tibet during the imperial era, only a few biographical details about this figure are known. Later sources describe him as a student of the Indian teacher Padmasambhava, and he is also credited with teaching both sūtra and tantra widely to students of his own. He was also known as Nanam Yeshé Dé, from the Nanam (sna nam) clan.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­5
  • c.­1
g.­399

yogic practice

Wylie:
  • rnal ’byor
Tibetan:
  • རྣལ་འབྱོར།
Sanskrit:
  • yoga

A term which is generally used to refer to a wide range of spiritual practices. It literally means to be merged with or “yoked to,” in the sense of being fully immersed in one’s respective discipline. The Tibetan specifies “union with the natural state.”

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­10
  • 4.­293
  • 4.­295
  • 4.­321
  • 4.­339
  • 4.­376
  • 4.­564
  • n.­411
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    84000. The Long Explanation of the Noble Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand, Twenty-Five Thousand, and Eighteen Thousand Lines (Ārya­śata­sāhasrikā­pañca­viṃśati­sāhasrikāṣṭā­daśa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā­bṛhaṭṭīkā, ’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa ’bum pa dang / nyi khri lnga stong pa dang / khri brgyad stong pa rgya cher bshad pa, Toh 3808). Translated by Gareth Sparham. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025. https://84000.co/translation/toh3808/UT23703-093-001-section-4.Copy
    84000. The Long Explanation of the Noble Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand, Twenty-Five Thousand, and Eighteen Thousand Lines (Ārya­śata­sāhasrikā­pañca­viṃśati­sāhasrikāṣṭā­daśa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā­bṛhaṭṭīkā, ’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa ’bum pa dang / nyi khri lnga stong pa dang / khri brgyad stong pa rgya cher bshad pa, Toh 3808). Translated by Gareth Sparham, online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025, 84000.co/translation/toh3808/UT23703-093-001-section-4.Copy
    84000. (2025) The Long Explanation of the Noble Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand, Twenty-Five Thousand, and Eighteen Thousand Lines (Ārya­śata­sāhasrikā­pañca­viṃśati­sāhasrikāṣṭā­daśa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā­bṛhaṭṭīkā, ’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa ’bum pa dang / nyi khri lnga stong pa dang / khri brgyad stong pa rgya cher bshad pa, Toh 3808). (Gareth Sparham, Trans.). Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. https://84000.co/translation/toh3808/UT23703-093-001-section-4.Copy

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